Absolute
by vanilla-project
Summary: AU Hinata always felt as if she wasn't needed that life being invisible was enough for her. But once she was pushed into a new school, everything around her made her stand out amongst the crowd, much to her dismay. And on top of that her father informs he
1. Invisible

_I had no intention of being noticed in school. Everyday, my routine was the same, go, be invisible, and leave. I had lived like that for 4 years so going to a new high school held no difference for me. Or at least, that's what I thought._

& Invisible &

Head hung down, the delicate Hyuuga found herself squeezing through the congestion of her new school. After what seemed like hours of searching, she found the office- which by that time, looked like heaven.

Finally escaping the traffic, she walked straight- into the clear glass door and left a face imprint. Gathering the remaining scraps of dignity she held left, Hinata staggered into the room, avoiding any witnesses of her recent escapade.

The room she went into had a stuffy atmosphere- making her nose and throat feel as if a cork was stuck in them. She looked about the room, taking note of the several people seated in it, when her eye caught onto one boy. It was the hair, the flaming red hair that caught her attention. His style was simple: a shirt with the school name scrawled across it with ripped jeans; stylistic in its own right. Hair and shoes matched in the same dirty red. Flawless eyes of green drew Hinata in, almost compelling her to move closer.

Hinata was unable to draw her eyes away, lost in the green pools that were currently glaring straight back at her. She paled, embarrassed at the thought of being caught ogling, and turned to the attendant who was tapping her foot impatiently, apparently waiting for Hinata to return to earth.

The older, blond girl sighed, giving up. She tapped Hinata atop her head, clearing her throat. The Hyuuga jumped in surprise and started to stutter.

"Oh, I'm sorry!"

The girl rolled her green eyes and waited for the new girl to talk; she had dealt with the shy type before and it wasn't very interesting.

Clearing her throat, she voiced, "Um, I'm Hinata Hyuuga, the new student." The blond merely rolled her eyes again; as if that was hard to tell.

The attendant motioned for her to follow, and began to walk past the seated students and into a ridiculously bright hallway. Hands brought up to shield from the obnoxious lighting, Hinata silently followed the taller girl.

The girl, who somewhere along the walk introduced herself as Temari, suddenly stopped walking, resulting in a very confused Hinata to crash into her. "We're here. This is your first period. As soon as it finishes, I'll meet you here to take you to your next class." Temari stopped and looked back at the fraught girl behind her, who at the moment was rubbing her head sheepishly. Temari sighed, for what seemed the umpteenth time that day. This girl was going to have a _blast_ at her new school. "Here's your schedule."

She turned to leave but stopped mid-step. "Don't get lost. This is a pretty big school with confusing hallways, mostly due to the lighting."

Hinata smiled in gratitude and glanced over her schedule. 'English, history, chemistry, P.E., math, art, and Home EC. Sounds fair enough, I guess.'

A semi-content sigh passed from her lips as her trembling hand opened the door. The English room was coated with posters of random phrases and grammar terms. As quietly as possible, she snuck, or more likely staggered over to the teacher's desk- most of the class was diligently testing and she didn't want to be a nuisance. Unsure of whether to leave the professor to his sleep wake him, she shyly took a quick glance around the room, while her mind was weighing out the options.

Other than the assortment of posters, the room consisted of desks, paired up in numerous rows. Lights illuminated each section of the room adequately so that there were no intense glares coming from reflections of light off objects. There was this pleasing ambiance emanating from the room, in which the sight- despite the colorful posters- was very calming and relaxing. That would probably explain the dozing teacher whom Hinata had finally decided to awaken. A gentle shake was all it took for the sleeping professor to sit up, and rub the sleep from his visible eye, fully refreshed.

The teacher had a navy blue bandana covering most of the left side of his well-toned face. An obnoxiously orange book hung over the bridge of his nose and managed to leave only his right eye available to view. Once he gingerly picked up and closed the book on the desk, he scanned the room. Hinata saw a smile form from underneath the cloth concealing his mouth.

Taking no notice of the young girl beside him, he scanned the room again, slowly. Suddenly, he spoke in a calm, collected voice, "Yo. Are any of you guys done yet?"

An orchestra of groans starting from a high pitched to a bass tone one played throughout the room. A student with cerulean eyes was irritated enough to shout out. "Sensei, you show up 40 minutes late to class and have the nerve to dump a test on our heads and fall asleep? Not only that, but this thing-" He waggled the paper in the air. "-is too hard! What gives!?" His eyes narrowed dangerously, mouth bending into an unruly pout.

Another student perked her head up from the position it was on the desk so that her chin held her head upright. "Kakashi-sensei, you've only been asleep for ten minutes. How can you expect us to be finished? And also, as Naruto was so eager to state, this test is impossible!"

It was as if another disc had been inserted into the CD player- the music playing was a sea of agreements. The waves of sound departed as the gray-haired teacher waggled his finger at the students.

"If you had studied, maybe it would be easier. Complain again and.." his eye playfully creased, forming an upside-down U. He chuckled to himself evilly. "I'll make you turn it in right now." Voices immediately ceased and the scratching of pencils on paper resumed.

Hinata, not the least bit surprised at not being noticed by her teacher, decided to speak up, lest her teacher fall asleep again. "S-Sensei, I… I'm H-Hinata Hyuuga." She fiddled with her thumbs, losing confidence at the sudden eye contact that the man gave her. "T-The um.. new student i-in your class."

"And I'm your new English teacher." Kakashi grinned, his one visible eye transforming into an arc once again. He patted her on the head and whipped out his blinding orange book from the top of the desk. He motioned for her to sit down anywhere and went on his merry way reading, from what appeared to be a porn book. Hinata blushed furiously, unable to comprehend why her teacher was reading one of _those_ types of books.

Her lips opened and shut with no sound coming out, earning her another pat on the head.

Propping his legs onto the desk, the composed teacher turned his head towards Hinata. "You can sit next to Ino. Here's the seating chart."

Hinata cringed from the chuckles, childish giggles, and slightly disturbing sounds that emitted from her new teacher. As Hinata walked over to her newly assigned seat, she couldn't help but think about all the perverted things that her Sensei could be reading about.

The girl called Ino smiled in pity when she saw Hinata's horrified face. "Don't worry, Sensei only reads perverted stuff. He's not really like that. Annoying, yes, but he's not an old pedophile if that's what you're thinking."

Hinata simply let out a breath and nodded her head in thanks. She let her eyes wander back to the seating chart that Kakashi-sensei had presented her with. Ino.. Ino.. Ino, Hinata's white eyes scanned the page until it settled upon the name Yamanaka Ino. Looking back at the blond girl, she blushed again, realizing she was standing in front of her new desk the whole time.

"Hey. Hey!" Ino's voice knifed through her embarassement.

"Y-Yes?!?"

Running her hand through her radiant hair, Ino pouted. "You haven't introduced yourself yet."

"I-I'm Hinata."

"Cool, Nice to meet cha! I'm Ino. Looks like we're English partners now. Kakashi-sensei hasn't updated the seating chart since day one. He's too lazy." Ino crinkled her nose in mock disgust.

Hinata's lips formulated something that resembled a smile; she was still unsure of how to deal with the cheerful blonde.

Before returning to her test, Ino explained who sat where in the class, with their personalities. Hinata took mental notes, thankful that the blond was kind enough to explain.

Soon after, the bell rang and the students shuffled out through the doors, exam papers piling up into a mountain on Kakashi's desk. He ignored the leaning pile, continuing to read even though the papers collapsed onto the floor.

While reading, he grabbed onto Naruto by the back of his shirt as he passed by the desk. "Hey Naruto." The English teacher chimed- still reading his book. "Would you mind picking up those papers that fell on the ground? You see, I'm at a very interesting part of the book and I couldn't possibly stop now."

Naruto's face turned murderous and he huffed, "Kakashi-sensei you LIAR!!"

"Thank you Naruto." The teacher paid no heed and stepped out of the classroom, walking to the teachers lounge, nose buried in the book.

Hinata wanted to stay behind to help but was dragged out of the room by Ino who didn't want her to be late meeting Temari. "She gets huffy when you're late. I'll see you in Gym, okay? Don't be late. Gai-sensei's a bit overwhelming, especially if you walk in even a second later than the bell." Her new companion waved while running off and eventually disappeared into the crowd.

Hinata latched onto Temari's arm, attempting to glue herself to her guides' side as they squeezed along the busy hallways, not wanting to lose her. Her guide dropped her off at her next class, where Hinata immediately noticed a head of red hair that happened to be leaning against the opposite wall. She paused slightly, before heading into the gymnasium.

&&&

Her brain took mental notes to itself, memorizing what classes had Ino in them and to her surprise, what classes that she shared with the red haired boy. It was agonizing- her eyes would dart around to glance at the red haired boy over and over again and it didn't help that they shared five classes together and, to her demise, lunch as well, where she currently was trying to enjoy herself.

"Hinata. Yoo hoo?" A flash of peach blocked her vision.

"I-Ino-san…?" Hinata moved her head so she saw around Ino's hand and straight at the blond.

"Oooh, you were looking at Sabaku Gaara weren't you?"

"Is that his na--?" Hinata's hand flew to cover her mouth and her face went through five different shades of red when she realized that she had basically admitted to Ino who she was staring at. She looked at the table and sighed, relieved only Ino had heard her.

Ino suddenly wrapped her arms around Hinata's shoulders, enveloping her in warmth that she hadn't felt since her mother had passed away. "Don't you have high hopes! He's the school's number one hottie. The one all the chicks go for. Ya see, it used to be a boy named Uchiha Sasuke, but he moved away about 2 months before you came by."

"From what I've heard, he has no interest in any girl in this school." One of Ino's friends, Sakura pitched in.

Hinata blushed profusely- the whole table in fact _did_ hear.

"I-I don't like him or anything. It's just that um… his hair is s-sso dark and light at the sa-ame time."

"Mhm, and his eyes. They go so well together right?" Ino giggled.

"Hinata, I recommend that you be careful. There are girls in this school that can hurt you." Tenten advised. "Besides, since you're the talk of the school, everyone's interested in you."

Hinata blinked several times, her face distressed. "What do you mean?" The attention was making her woozy. She wanted to go back to being invisible.

Immediately, Sakura and Ino joined hands and grinned at her. "Every guy in the school has their eyes on you!"

Sakura took a deep breath and recited, "Her stunning eyes and body shape are simply a vision of what paradise can be. Her hair, so long and blue, intensifies her beauty tenfold."

Everyone at the table twitched, slightly uncomfortable with the description. Hinata cringed, unable to believe what her new friends were telling her, much less digest all of it at once.

"No really! I'm not joking! I overheard some guys talking!"

Hinata cringed once more. "I really don't want all this attention… I think it would be better if I went back to being unnoticed." Hinata whispered softly. Ino turned her head and glanced at Hinata, having heard what she said. She held Hinata's hand in hers and looked into her eyes.

"Hinata, you're new to the school and already all the guys are drooling over you! You haven't even batted an eyelash! Enjoy yourself because you are one hell of a lucky girl."

"I bet even Gaara looked at you once or twice!" Each girl at the table took their turn complementing the Hyuuga, boosting her confidence to extreme levels and contradicting what they said before.

By the time the girls were finished, Hinata looked like she was about to die, or faint at the very least. It appeared that her face couldn't get any redder with mortification, especially from Ino's last comment about Hinata and Gaara in bed.

Hinata would have died and gone to heaven from embarrassment if Kin and her gang hadn't intervened. Kin stomped her boot on the table, deliberately delivering food to decorate Hinata and Ino's laps.

"Hey bitch, stay off our property you got that?"

Hinata pointed at herself, dumbfounded.

"Yeah, you." Another one of Kin's gang members, Tayuya piped in. "Just because you're pretty doesn't mean you're getting anywhere."

Kin yanked Hinata's long blue hair towards herself, jerking the poor girl's head forward. Hinata yelped at the sudden pain, resulting in another tug on her hair. The lunchroom quieted, all focus on the two girls.

"So this is the hair that everyone's spazzing about." She sneered. "It's nothing compared to mine. I bet you spent hundreds of dollars to make it like this. How would you feel if it was all too just, disappear?"

"Kin, stop!" Ino glared at the black haired girl, fury rising by the second. "What the hell you do think you're doing!?!?" She tried to lunge at the girl but was pushed down to the ground.

The other girls forced Ino, Sakura, and Tenten to their knees, holding their hair to position their heads in which they could view their friend's torment. Kin reached into her pocket and revealed a shiny penknife that had been concealed in her baggy army pants. She flicked it open, light dancing on the edges. Holding out Hinata's hair with one hand and the knife in the other, she aimed to cut it off and leave only an inch or two remaining. Before she could though, her arm was captured by a strong, firm grip of none other than Gaara.

Kin's eyes widened in disbelief. "G-Gaara!"

"You're making a ruckus. It's annoying." He slipped the penknife out of her hand easily and threw it into the nearest trashcan. The other students stood in awe, unable to comprehend the soccer captain's actions.

Losing balance when Kin released her, Hinata glanced up, anddisappointingly, only saw her hero's backside. She wanted to thank him, call out to him, but that would only draw more attention. That was the complete opposite of what she wanted. She would do so later- after all, that red-haired kid was hard to forget.

&&&

After school, as she was walking home, she was wary of every tree, car, bench, and building. Her new friends had warned her of Kin and her gang stopping at no costs to make her life a living hell, especially after the way Gaara had protected her.

She passed by the playing field and looked on to see the soccer players scattered across the field. She inched towards the field, taking refuge behind trees that barely covered her. When she was within hearing distance, the guys took a water break. All of them looked like they had bathed in sweat- they were glistening from perspiration.

Hinata cautiously moved one more tree toward the field, getting closer to the captain. Drool formed in her mouth as Gaara drank water, muscles contracting and water pouring down his throat.

"Say Gaara, why'd you help that girl? What's her name… Hinata?"

"Oi, Naruto, that's not something you need to ask. Isn't it obvious? He knew that the fanclub would get even madder and then there's going to be hell. It would be boring if it ended just now. He wants to see more jealousy, more violence."

The captain merely grunted in response- neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Hinata misunderstood and pressed her books tighter to her chest. She was stupid, extremely stupid for believing that Gaara was a kind person. He had only wanted to see her in pain. She ran until her lungs were burning; only stopping when her white door appeared in view.

&&&

She climbed up her wooden stairs, which creaked on every odd numbered step. She skillfully avoided each one while beating herself up mentally. 'How could I have fallen for such a …' she couldn't finish her sentence, feeling sorrow rather than contempt.

She flung the door open and collapsed on her unmade bed. Her body molded right into the cushions, the sheets wrapping around her in a warm embrace.

It was the only comfort she had. After her mother's death, her father hardly ever cared for her and her sister was to busy with her own relationships to even notice her.

But for once, instead of meditating on the bed, she picked up her house phone and dialed the number Ino had stamped on her arm with a pungent blue sharpie.

'_Call me anytime.'_

Hinata took a deep breath and dialed the number. It was the first time in years since she had conversed with someone on the phone that wasn't related to her.

"_Hello?"_ Hinata hung up the phone immediately, losing all nerve at the sound of a male voice on the other line.

She panted nervously and tried dialing again- this time praying that Ino would pick up. Did she dial the right number? Did Ino give her the wrong one as a prank?

"Hello?" A wave of relief washed over Hinata. Ino had picked up this time.

"H-hi Ino, its Hinata."

"Hey! Sorry, Shikamaru picked up before. It was you who called before, right?"

"Y-Yea, that was kind of surprising. I-I'm sorry! I didn't know you had a brother."

The echoing of laughter resonated throughout the phone. "Shikamaru? Haha! My brother?"

"H-he's n-not?" Hinata stammered, losing confidence once again. Her throat constricted and her mouth clamped shut.

"Of course not. He's my boyfriend. He's just over because I'm tutoring him."

_The male voice was heard again over the line. "You're doing what?"_

"Oh. I'll call some other time. Sorry if I bothered you."

"NO NO NO! Don't hang up. He isn't worth hanging up for."

"_Hey!"_

Ino giggled madly. Hinata could feel Ino smile through the phone. "So what'd you call for?"

"I heard Gaara talking today."

"Wow, big whoop. Congrats, not many people alive can here him utter a sound!"

"I-I'm sorry." There was a long pause on the line. Ino slapped herself mentally. She had forgotten how fragile Hinata was and how easily she could brood.

"Hinata, I didn't mean it that way. Sorry, anyway keep going."

The Hyuuga twirled her long fingers around the telephone cord. "I overheard him… and… well, you know when he saved me from Kin?"

"Yea!" Hinata could imagine Ino pumping her fist up into the air with enthusiasm. "That was cool!"

"I-I th-think… he only did it to hurt me." She breathed.

"What!?! What the hell are you talking about? _Shikamaru stop fiddling with the pencil and do your work!_"

"……Since Kin hates me, he wanted to save me and make Kin hate me more. That way I would suffer and he would be entertained." Small ships of tears were forming in her eyes at this point and they were setting sail down her cheeks. Hinata wiped her eyes. "And I really thought he was different but now… now…" She sniffled, pushing her two index fingers together, the phone balanced against her chin and shoulder.

"What a JERK!! But, hot guys are often disappointing. Just like my Shika. He's one of the hottest in our school but he's extremely stupid."

"_What are you talking about Ino? I'm not really here to learn! Spreading rumors about me. You know what I'm here mmmmmmmmmmmmph!!!!!!!!"_

The line was disconnected. Hinata was worried for Shikamaru's sake but she was glad that she called Ino. It felt like she was no longer drowning from disappointment.

She traced Gaara's name into the air.

Sabaku Gaara

It was on her lips, and she swore that she wouldn't let herself be fooled by something like love at first sight.

_& "I will never fall for you again." &_

A/N: **Please Review!** Hahaha, Ino's not helping Shika study. I'll leave it to your imagination ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, it would be called Gaara. XD My awesome mind would make the crack pairings come true so they would no longer be considered crack!


	2. Two words

_I swore I would never fall for him again. After all, I had fallen in love with him on first sight. So falling out of love should be just as easy. Right? I mean, being friends is better anyway. _

& Two Words &

Hinata walked into her math class, smiling when she saw Ino asleep at her desk. Taking the empty seat beside her friend, she looked at her classmates. Noticing Gaara, she blushed and stared at him. He was facing the window, his hand holding his chin up. Following his line of vision, Hinata glanced outside, watching the growing chaos.

The world outside was the exact opposite of the currently quiet classroom. The wind was forcing the branches to wave around frantically. It howled and screeched like a siren, accompanied by the wild scrapes of the wood against the window. It was chaotic- just like Hinata's feelings for Gaara. She couldn't choose whether to like him or not. She shook her head, shaking out those unnecessary thoughts. Instead, she turned towards Ino to occupy herself.

"H-hi Ino-chan." She poked Ino gently, hoping to get a reaction.

"Wha? Shika, it's too early for this." She mumbled groggily. "G'nite."

Hinata giggled softly before poking Ino again. She looked so cute with her half-opened eyes and pleasant smile on her lips.

"What do you want? Leave me alone… no teach…er yet." Ino shut her eyes completely, soft sighs escaping her lips. Hinata turned away, finding it impossible to wake the blond.

Naruto, seeing the chance to talk to her stood up and walked over. He tapped her on the head, grinning from ear to ear. "Hey!"

This resulted in a very grumpy Ino waking up and snapping at him. "Naruto you idiot, do you have to be so loud?"

Hinata cringed. She sensed an argument on its way. Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry Ino-chan. Hehehehe."

"Sure you are." Ino propped her head on Hinata's shoulder, still a bit sleepy. "Hey Hinata." She mumbled. "Is he bothering you? Cuz if he is, I can beat him up for you."

Hinata stoically shook her head, not wanting to get Naruto in trouble. "N-no, h-he's n-not doing a-anything." Hinata bit her lower lip, praying that Naruto would return to his seat.

Not taking the hint, Naruto stuck out his tongue and pouted. He ignored Ino, instead concentrating on Hinata. "Hi! Your name is Hinata right?"

"Y-yes." Hinata clasped her hands together, begging for Naruto to get the hint. Wishing she had the power of telepathy, she voiced her thoughts in her head, trying to relay the message to Naruto. 'Please, leave before I-Ino-'

"Hey, leave her alone! Can't you see that she's uncomfortable?" Ino frowned, wishing Naruto would leave. He gave a bad reputation to blonds.

"I'm just trying to be friendly you bossy bitch. Hinata, if you need any help around here, feel free to talk to me. Ino won't do you any good." Naruto shook his head and walked away, his temper flaring. Hinata breathed a heavy sigh of relief. There would be no fight today. Or, so she thought.

"You better wash your mouth with soap before Iruka-sensei comes in." Ino jeered, smirking when Naruto whirled around and glared. "You know he doesn't like it when you curse Naruto."

"WHAT!?!?!" He stomped back to Ino's desk, eyes flaming with semi-controlled anger.

Ino continued with her taunts. "You're just bothering Hina-chan because Sakura isn't here."

"I-Ino-chan!" Hinata called, nervously. Their argument was rising to dangerous levels.

"Oh Hinata! I'm sor- WHAT THE HELL!?!?" Ino gritted her teeth. Naruto had broken all of Ino's pencils in his fury. He smiled defiantly, looking down at Ino. "What now?"

"You freaking-"

"What is going on here!!" A teacher entered the room, who Hinata guessed was Iruka-sensei. "I can hear you from Kakashi-sensei's room."

Naruto, either deaf or extremely dense, didn't catch on and continued to pester Ino. "I would show you a piece of my mind if you weren't a girl."

"Uzumaki Naruto! Come down here right now and explain!" The teacher barked. From the impatient look on his face, Naruto probably acted up frequently. Iruka's face darkened, veins pulsing.

"Iruka-sensei, Naruto was harassing us." Ino yelled from the back of the classroom.

"YOU!! GRRRR!!!! You were just attacking me because I'm handsomer than your Shika!" Naruto shot back with a smirk adorning his face. He was sure that he bruised Ino's pride now!

"Oh, don't say that, it means you're just jealous. I mean come on, there's nothing attractive about you at all." Ino rolled her eyes, acting superior. Hinata just cringed, unwillingly stuck in the middle of the heated fight. She felt as if she were being suffocated, the irritation of the two blonds and the teacher floating around the air.

"Guys cool down!" Iruka huffed.

"Why would I be jealous of you?" Naruto stuck out his tongue again, as menacingly as he could.

"You better put that tongue back where it came from or I might bite it off!"

Hinata frowned, the commotion dizzying her. She looked at Gaara, who was frowning as well. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but shut it closed again. Apparently, Naruto wasn't finished yelling.

"You cannibal! You-" He stopped when he felt a death glare fall upon him. He turned around, deathly afraid. "Hi, Gaara….."

Ino started to lower her voice, frightened as well. "… ummm hi!"

Gaara shut his eyes in annoyance. "Shut up." He crossed his arms and looked out the window again, pleased with the silence that followed. The class let out silent sighs of relief. They had suffered the wrath of Gaara once before and weren't bent on experiencing it again.

"Thank God! Alright, everyone in your seats!" Iruka-sensei took command as if nothing happened. "Since we started the day off with a blast, thanks to our two blonds, all of you will be taking that exam I was planning to hold off."

Naruto stood up from his desk, fists slamming on the table rebelliously. "But Iruka-sensei! She started it!"

"But Naruto, you yelled back! And that is just as bad." Iruka placed his hands on his temples, massaging them. He looked older than before, stress revealing his true age.

"B-but!" Naruto groaned in chorus with the other students, only stopping when they glared at him. His eyebrows scrunched together. "Hey! She started it!" But he stopped complaining- he was too young to die at his age.

Trying to change the mood of the class, Iruka fished out his announcement sheet from his bag. He scanned over the paper, stopping when he came across something interesting. "Hinata Hyuuga? Are you here?" Iruka glanced up and smiled, pleased to see his new student raising her hand quietly. At least the new student wasn't another loud mouth. "Come down and I'll catch you up on what we're doing."

Hinata nodded, goose bumps poking up from under her skin. She tried to stand, but found herself glued to the chair. Standing up would mean that the class would look at her. The class looking at her meant that she was the center of attention. Being the center of attention meant…

"Hinata, go on. He won't bite." Ino interrupted Hinata's incessant chain of thoughts, finding it strange that her friend was just staring blankly ahead. Hinata nodded once more and stood up, finding Ino's words to be a little, _just a little bit_, comforting. Her shoes clunked on the tiled floor as she walked over to her teacher.

Iruka placed his hands on her shoulders and spun her around to face the class. "Guys, this is Hinata. She is going to take Sasuke's old seat, next to Naruto." Then he turned her around again so her back was to the class. "I'm sure you know who Naruto is by now so go ahead and put your stuff down. Then we can talk." He smiled gently and patted her back, signaling for her place her school bag on her desk.

She left the teacher, feeling all eyes watching her every movement. Naruto's grin welcomed her, comforting her a bit. "Hinata-chan, we're gunna have so much fun together!" He wiped the desk furiously with his sleeve, cleaning it so Hinata could place her stuff without grime getting on it. Hinata then rushed back to her teacher, partly to escape the overexcited blond.

"Make sure he doesn't bite you!" Ino called from her desk, miffed that Hinata wasn't sitting next to her.

"Shut up Ino! At least I don't go around PMSing 24/7!"

'Why do I have both of them in the morning?' Iruka sighed to himself before ushering Hinata outside. "Wait here, I have to pass out the tests." He shut the door behind her so she wouldn't have to listen to Naruto and Ino bicker.

The classroom was in havoc. Ino and Naruto were standing face to face, jabbing one another's sides. Their faces were flushed and their voices were growing louder every moment. Apparently, they had forgotten about the possibility of annoying Gaara.

"I bet you can't even answer number one Ino!"

"At least my hair isn't the color of a yellow highlighter!"

"At least I don't have to wash my hair with extra-shine shampoo to make it glisten!"

Kiba interdicted. "Can you guys just shut up? Really, we don't want to make Iruka-sensei and Gaara mad."

Ino tossed her hair back and tried to look stuck up. "Shut up dog-boy. What would you know?"

"Yeah, Kiba stay out of this."

Ino stuck out her tongue. "Naruto don't copy me." She jabbed his forehead harshly. Naruto fell back and landed on his butt- it was an unexpected attack.

"Guys! Take your tests." Iruka passed them out, growling to himself. They were so hot-headed and stubborn. "If anyone starts to talk after I pass out the test then I will fail them and send them to detention with Hidan." Thankfully, the class became quiet after that. Iruka then exited the room to catch Hinata up on things. He didn't really have a chance to explain though, since the bell rang a couple of minutes after he began to talk.

Hinata looked worried. Ino and Naruto's bickering took up most of the period, resulting in no time to take the exam. She walked back into the room with Iruka-sensei. After sighing heavily, her teacher placed his head on his desk, exhausted. "Since you guys took forever, I'll let this go one time. Ino, Naruto, expect detention all week."

Gaara simply walked out, glaring at the two idiots.

&&&

Ino walked Hinata to chemistry class and was shocked to find only one empty seat- next to Gaara. Ino placed a finger on her chin thoughtfully, trying to come up with a comforting comment. "Hinata, have fun!" Hinata clutched Ino's arm in a death grip, eyes wide with alarm. "I have to go. I don't want to be late you know." She wriggled herself out of Hinata's hold and left the room in a hurry, leaving Hinata to somehow cope with sitting next to the figure of her affections.

Hinata sighed. There was no other seat that she could occupy. Reluctantly, she sat next to Gaara, making sure to avoid bothering him in any way possible. The bell rang and Gaara looked at her briefly, a non-existent eyebrow raised. It was as if he was asking her why she was sitting there. Hinata blushed and looked away to the back door of the classroom.

As if on cue, it opened at the same exact time she looked, her instructor walking out with something that stank horribly. The class groaned, the smell to strong to bear. The teacher placed the smelly thing on the desk before scanning the room. He looked at the faces of each student, checking attendance, until his eye finally rested on one student.

"I see we have a new student replacing Sasuke-kun. What a pity that is. What is your name dear?"

"H-h-h-h-hinata." She stared at Orochimaru, scared. Out of her peripheral vision, she saw Gaara plug his ear in annoyance. Her stuttering was diminishing the little patience he had.

"What a pretty name! I hope you can fill Sasuke's shoes because none of these fools have been able to yet. Especially you, Mr. Sabaku."

Gaara rolled his eyes to show his apathy. "_Sasuke_ was the only thing that kept him from _failing_." He stopped speaking for a couple of minutes afterwards, as if to emphasize how great Sasuke was. When the class seemed ready to fall asleep, he droned on. "Anyway, class, we will, oh I'm sorry, YOU will be conducting a series of experiments to find out the contents of what is in this container. Have fun and don't worry, it isn't deadly."

He passed out the chemicals and the supplies, enjoying the terrified groans of the kids who had accidentally caught a whiff of it. "You have the remainder of the class to complete the assignment. If you are not finished, you will fail." Suddenly there was a boom from across the hall, startling the class. After passing everything out, Orochimaru left, saying something checking on the new biology teacher named Kabuto.

Gaara eyed Hinata, wondering if she would do anything. She cowered, feeling his gaze. Gaara stared for a while but gave up trying to intimidate her into working, realizing the girl wasn't going to move. "Start reading." He took out the materials, and passed the instructions to Hinata. She looked over the information sheet and found that it was stuff she had learned in her previous school.

She started to give directions but was interrupted by a second boom from the same area as the first one. She wanted to go check what happened, but she stayed put when she saw Gaara's lack of reaction. He frowned, feeling her staring at him again. "What?"

"N-nothing!" She set to work, setting up the procedures needed to find the chemical's properties. Gaara helped every now and then, with minor things.

Meanwhile, at another table, Kiba poked at the container, the smell clogging his nose. "What the hell is this thing? Gah, this is all 'cause that bastard Sasuke left."

"Maybe if you weren't such an idiot, you wouldn't be complaining right now." Gaara sneered in a piercing voice. Since Hinata had experience finding chemical properties, Gaara had entrusted the experiment to her, resulting in free time for himself. He smirked inwardly when the dog-boy snapped at him. He was so easily annoyed.

Kiba walked over and glared insolently at Gaara. "What did you say? You have no right to say anything! I mean you couldn't even beat Orochimaru's dear Sasuke-kun." Kiba walked over and glared defiantly at Gaara.

Gaara sneered and grabbed Kiba's shirt collar. "You have no right to talk either."

'Not again!' Hinata bit her lower lip. She didn't want to waste any time- screwing up on her second day in front of her teacher was not an option. Not to mention, her grade was on the line! "G-guys?"

The two ignored her, too busy glaring into each other's eyes. "I'll kick your ass."

"Like you can." Kiba snorted.

"G-guys!" She spoke up louder and pushed them apart. They stared at her, stunned, and she stared back, amazed by her own confidence as well.

Gaara's eyes narrowed. "You got a problem?" He released Kiba's shirt and faced her, one hand curling into a fist.

"Hey, leave her alone." Hinata looked away; Gaara's stare was intimidating. But Gaara wasn't the only one staring- the whole class found the whole ordeal more entertaining than the assignment. Great, now she was the center of attention. Thankfully, Gaara stared them down, and they all muttered something about needing to continue their experiment before turning away. Now it was just Kiba, Gaara, and Hinata, each looking intently at theother.

"She didn't do anything wrong." Kiba snarled. Gaara ignored him, instead continuing to look at Hinata. She was pretty brave for a kid that stuttered every moment of her life. "Pshaw, whatever, I'm going back." Kiba shoved his hands in his pockets and rocketed away, his keen senses telling him that if he didn't leave soon, Gaara would force him to do laps.

His attempted escape proved to be fruitless and Gaara voiced his punishment. "Kiba, twenty four laps around the track for soccer practice today." Gaara smirked as he said that, knowing that Kiba hated laps.

"Bastard." Kiba began to entertain himself picking at the desk, imagining it was Gaara's face.

Twenty minutes later, Orochimaru finally decided to show his face. "Now I do hope that nothing is going wrong in here, because that would be unfortunate for those individuals who chose to cause trouble. Since time is up, let's check to see who failed. I hope you all finished, I know Sasuke would have been done by now."

The class groaned. "I'm going around and all of you should be able to tell me what it is. Starting with Mr. Aburame and his partner."

"The substance is an extract from a corpse flower." Shino answered smartly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Very good, Mr. Aburame." He nodded approvingly and then turned to Kiba.

"Ahh, Damn! I don't know what the hell it is, but it smells like shit!" He covered his nose and whimpered.

"Shino, A, Kiba, F." He continued to move along the rows of students, ignoring the complaints Kiba was spouting. "And what did you find my dear?" Orochimaru's eyes gleamed expectantly. He was: one, expecting Gaara to fail, and two, expecting Hinata to pass.

Gaara looked at Hinata for the answer, not caring to answer himself. "I-its is f-from a c-corpse f-flower."

"Very good. And do tell me, did Gaara over here help at all?

"Y-yes, Orochimaru-sensei, Gaara-san w-was very h-helpful." She lied, covering for him. Orochimaru eyed her, in disbelief, but moved along, deciding that the girl wouldn't say any more. He was done in a total of five minutes, grades all written down and each student accounted for. There were 10 A's, 13 D's, and 1 F. That single F belonging to Kiba.

&&&

The lunch room was bustling when Hinata arrived there, the lunch line a mile long. She held her lunch close to her chest and darted through the crowd, searching for Ino.

"Hey Hinata! Over here!" Hinata spotted a hand waving high in the air. Sighing in relief, Hinata started to walk towards Ino. But the way there, she felt someone grab her arm. She twirled around in fright and found Naruto grinning at her, with Kiba next to him.

"Hey Hina-chan!!" He patted the surprised girl on the head. "You know, if you want, you can sit with me, Kiba and the soccer team. They're all dying to meet you!"

Hinata focused on the floor, suddenly finding the green and white tiles very interesting. Naruto wrapped his arms around Hinata's arm, tugging earnestly. He really wanted to sit with her.

Hinata tried to pry Naruto off of herself, wanting desperately to go to Ino instead. "Please l-let go."

"Aww." Naruto pouted. "But I really wanna get to know you." He shook her arm a little bit for emphasis.

"Hey, leave her alone!" Ino walked up to Naruto, slapping Naruto's arms off Hinata. "You blew up the friggen biology room! I don't want her hanging out with a trouble maker like you!"

"I was inviting her to our table so she could meet our gang." He gritted his teeth. "And I'm not a trouble maker. It was an accident."

"How does anybody blow up anything in a biology class!?!?!?"

"Hahahaha." Naruto looked away, Ino's accusations silencing him.

"Ino, leave him alone. Supposedly, he has to pay for the damages with his own money." Kiba chuckled. Naruto never ceased to amaze him.

Ino glared, unconvinced. "Why would she want to sit with smelly boys?"

"Because we're hot smelly boys! Can't resist can you?" Naruto's sea-blue eyes twinkled, matching the sparkle in his ever-persistent grin.

"Of course I can, Shika is as hot as any of you and he doesn't smell. But, whatever. If Hinata wants to…" She looked over at the shy girl, expecting a response. Hinata nodded meekly, not wanting to insult Naruto. "Alright, fine. I'm going to get Sakura and Tenten too." Ino left Hinata with the two boys. They dragged her over to the table and waited for the other girls to join so that Hinata wasn't uncomfortable. She wasn't alone with them for long; Ino joined shortly after.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto blushed madly. His crush looked away, ignoring his affections. Naruto sighed and walked over to Tenten. He had been rejected enough times to know that if Sakura didn't want to talk to him, she wouldn't.

Tenten patted the poor boy on the back, understanding his unrequited feelings. She had also been rejected several times before her boyfriend had opened up to her. Trying to lighten the dejected boy's mood, she asked about his day. "Hey Naruto, I head you blew up the Bio room! How did that happen?"

Ino rolled her eyes in impatience. "I was there with him and I still don't know how he did it!"

His eyes lit up, renewed energy bursting inside of him. "_Well_," He began, looking slightly proud of himself. Tenten had always said that his mistakes were something worth listening to. "I accidentally ran into the overhead, which dropped onto the ground and then I accidentally dropped a chemical on it." He paused for a dramatic effect.

"And then what?"

"Then, you know, Boom!" Naruto lifted his arms into the air, his face in an utterly ridiculous expression of joy. Ino bashed his head into the table.

"This isn't something you should be proud of!"

Hinata was surprised to see Tenten laughing at her friend's torture. "I bet Kabuto-sensei went crazy."

Ino shrugged. "Ya, Orochimaru-sensei had to come over. Kabuto-sensei would be in a state of panic otherwise."

"Oh, I had him last year for chemistry."

Naruto placed his hands on his cheeks and pulled downwards, making a strange face. "He was so freaky looking and he talked about Sasuke like, nonstop." Tenten laughed and was about to say something, when Hinata interrupted.

"Sorry, but c-can w-we sit?"

"Yeah, sorry Hinata!" Ino apologized.

"Sorry f-for interrupting."

"No, it's okay. Sasuke-kun was and still is a huge topic."

"Wait, Hinata, before you sit, I'm gunna introduce everyone. As you know, I'm Naruto. The kid next to me is Kiba, that's Gaara, Sai, and Lee. The other soccer players have a different lunch so they aren't here. But avoid Sai, he's kinda weird!"

"Are you talking about me Naruto-chan?" The boy named Sai walked over and slinked his arms around Naruto's neck. Naruto shivered from the unwanted contact.

"Naruto, why didn't you tell me about this new development?" Tenten pouted in mock disappointment.

"I'm not into him. HE'S forcing his affections on ME!" The kids laughed, minus Gaara and Hinata.

Sai nibbled on Naruto's ear, causing a reluctant moan to escape from his captive's mouth. Hinata's hands flew to her face to cover her eyes. Sai smirked at the girl's reaction and whispered huskily into his partner's ear. "Naruto-chan, lets go somewhere _private_." He dragged a 'reluctant' Naruto away, an evil glint in his eyes. Naruto looked back, his eyes pleading for rescue.

When he saw none coming, he sighed and yelled, "Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan, wait for me! I'll be back!"

"What about me?" Tenten raised an eyebrow, asking even though Naruto was to far away to hear.

"I-I'm sure h-he meant y-you too, T-Tenten-chan." Hinata whispered, trying to console her friend.

"Naw, it's okay. I'm his best-friend so I know he did it on purpose to annoy me. It's okay, really." Hinata nodded- not quite understanding, but attempting to anyway.

"Hey Hinata, why don't you sit where Naruto usually does? Next to Gaara?" Sakura suggested innocently, as if she didn't know about Hinata's little crush.

"Yeah, and I'll sit next to you!" Ino nodded her head, fully agreeing with Sakura's suggestion.

Hinata's face heated up, her pale complexion intensifying the blush on her cheeks. "U-um it's o-ok, what if .. Naruto-kun c-comes b-back?"

"Don't worry, we'll dispose of him on the ground or something. He's probably enjoying himself anyway." Ino pushed a blushing Hinata down to her seat and sat beside her so she was sandwiched in- Gaara on one side and Ino on the other. Hinata picked at her food, unable to defy Ino's orders. She remained quiet while Sakura and Ino started to chat.

"So Sakura, anything new happening?"

"You are going to be so jealous Ino."

"Ya sure." She flipped her hair. "Just spill it."

"I'm going out with someone." Sakura ran her hand through her hair, attempting to look superior to Ino.

"Oh really, and who is the unfortunate guy?"

"Sasuke-kun." Sakura sniggered at Ino's blank expression. "Yeah, who's the unlucky one now?" Ino bit her lip in frustration. She decided glaring at Sakura would do her justice and so a staring contest ensued.

While they were staring at one another, Hinata was nervous and uncomfortable. Being so close to Gaara more than once a day was driving her emotions - not to mention her brain- insane. She ate quickly and left half of her food untouched. While standing up to throw it away, she failed to notice Naruto sprinting towards her, in an attempt to get away from Sai. Unable to stop himself, he slammed into her, causing her to fall back. Not only did her leg scrape against the chair, but her food decided to plaster itself on Gaara's and her own clothing, only to add to her misery.

It seemed as if time had stopped itself. Hinata had a terrified look upon herself and she looked at Gaara's furious expression. He looked down at his clothes and glanced back at her, mouth carved into a frown. Unable to bear it anymore, she ran out of the lunchroom.

Oh, she was such a failure! She had ruined Gaara's clothes, probably provoking him to no end with her stuttering as well. She scampered into the bathroom, locking herself in a stall to cry.

Ino's worried voice disrupted her sobs. "Hinata, are you here?"

"N-no." She hiccupped. She didn't want Ino to see her like this.

"Hinata, I can help. Come on." She stopped in front of Hinata's stall and waited patiently.

Hinata, in the midst of her sobs, opened the lock to the stall. Ino walked in and wrapped her arms around the girl in a warm embrace. Hinata went hysterical, wetting Ino's shirt with her continuous flow of tears. "H-he probably h-hates m-me now! A-and I o-only w-wanted to b-be friends."

"Shhh. It's okay. Gaara is probably yelling at Naruto right now. He may seem mean but he has some good qualities." She rubbed the girl's back lovingly.

And if only time had stopped there, letting Hinata cry it out and relieve herself of her emotions. But the clock continued to tick, allowing for another girl to enter the bathroom and look upon the scene.

"So you had the nerve to sit next to Gaara." Hinata looked up and groaned quietly. Kin was blocking the exit to the stall. Ino released Hinata and turned around. She crossed her arms and scowled.

"What do you want?"

"This is a warning. Stay away from the guys. This is the last time I'll let this go."

"Why should we listen to you?" Ino snapped. Kin was getting on her last nerve.

"Because if you don't, I will spend a lot of time making you and your friend's lives as miserable as possible." That shut Ino up pretty well. Hinata paled, unable to speak out.

"Answer me. Are you going to stay away?" Hinata nodded, disgraced with her weakness.

"Good." She moved from the stall door and allowed the two to file out. Once they were out, she kicked their legs so that they lost balance and fell to the floor. She towered over them, glowering. "I swear, I will make your life a living hell if you keep this up." After giving both of them a stinging slap, Kin left the bathroom with a furious Ino glaring at her backside.

Outside, she accidentally ran into Gaara who had been absentmindedly pacing back and forth. "Gaara?"

Gaara took off his jacket and looked at it disgustedly, as if running into Kin had tainted it. He groaned and muttered, "Is Hinata in there?"

"Yeah," Kin glowered, her voice stinging with envy. "What about her?"

Why was he even bothering? "Is she okay?" Gaara asked, finding it incredulous that he was even asking.

Kin stomped her foot. "Since when do you care about people like her?" She clutched on to his arm. "She's just a slut with no life."

Gaara pushed her away, annoyed. He raised a single finger and hissed, "Fuck off." before walking back to the lunchroom.

&&&

Hinata walked home slowly, low on energy because of her earlier outburst of tears. Ino had reassured her that Gaara didn't hate her and that she still had a chance of befriending him. Hinata wandered down the bare streets, preoccupied by her wavering thoughts. Once she saw her white front door in front of her, she pulled out her key and unlocked the door, hoping no one was home.

Finally in the safe haven of her house, she paused to gather her bearings. After setting her things down in the corner by the door in her house, she stopped moving, finally noticing a man that had been there ever since she came home from school. Instead of bowing politely, as she should have, she stared, and he stared back with greater intensity.

"Hinata, do not disrespect your elders! It is rude to stare. Have you forgotten your place?" Her father appeared next to the strange man with two cups of tea in his hands.

"O-oh! S-sorry father!" She bowed, slightly toppling over from lack of balance.

Sighing, her father set the teacups down and turned to the guest. "Sabaku-sama, this is my eldest daughter, Hinata Hyuuga. Hinata, this is Sabaku-sama. Please forgive her rudeness. She can be a little off some days. She is a great cook and has many redeeming qualities."

The man simply nodded in approval- or at least something that looked like it.

"Hinata, come here."

She hurried to her father's side, making sure not to get to close to Sabaku-sama.

"Meet your new father-in-law."

"P-pardon?!?!" Her mouth hung open- very unceremoniously. "B-but father, Hanabi is t-to y-young to m-marry!"

"Hinata-" Her father's tone was escalating rapidly in impatience. He breathed in deeply several times before continuing. "Hanabi is not the one to marry. You are going to marry Sabaku-sama's son, Gaara. In other words, it's an arranged marriage."

"W-What…?" The whole world seemed to be spinning around her, morphing her father's words into incoherent babble. "An arranged marriage? With Gaara-san?"

"Yes, it will benefit both of our families." He sighed. His daughter was so difficult. "Sabaku Incorporations is a very strong company that has been rising to rival our business. So we've decided to merge by marrying you to together. That will secure our truce with each other and we will have more influence over all other companies. Be grateful. This is a chance to prove your worth. Even if you refuse, I will still sign the papers anyway."

The intensity of the situation finally hit her. Those two little words, 'arranged marriage' managed to make her world jump upside down in a matter of seconds. Hinata steadied herself against the wall. "T-thank you for i-informing m-m…m-me…" She managed to mumble out. Her brain didn't feel like functioning. "E-excuse m-me.. I n-n-eed to g-g-o see s-something." She managed to go up the stairs and into her room, before reeling headfirst into her bed.

_&'Gaara-san, should I be happy? Are __**you**__ happy about this?'& _

A/N. **Please Review!** This was actually a super long chapter. Long chapter equals more reviews right? Also, thanks for the nice comments on the first chapter. I enjoyed reading them all. Keep it up. :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I just borrow the characters for my own entertainment and yours.


	3. The bells aren't ringing

"_Everything seems to by flying by so quickly. It's been two weeks since I've heard about my marriage and it feels like just yesterday, I was entering my new school. What's bothering me though, is that my marriage- well, it's today."_

& The Bells Aren't Ringing &

A flowing dress that slides right on the body. A glamorous chandelier reflecting the bright future ahead. Friends and family waiting with expectant smiles. Looks of awe as she walks down the aisle. The final look of approval from her father. The look of trust and affection in her groom's eyes. The words 'I do' falling from those lips before a passionate kiss to seal their future together. That was her dream- and unfortunately, still was a dream.

Hinata sighed. In an attempt to lighten her mood, she looked at her reflection. She smiled at the stunning décor of her kimono. There were butterflies fluttering about as if they were alive- as if the kimono was the living pond where they gathered. It took every ounce of her strength for the past two weeks to convince her father to at least get her a new kimono to present herself with.

Taking a deep breath, Hinata stepped back from the full length mirror and exited the dressing room. She took her time walking back to the main room where her father was waiting, preferring to look at the man-made pond to her right. The small bamboo fountain made thunking noises every time it dropped to let water slide down- dropping rhythmically with her heart beats.

She looked miserably at the fountain. It was now or never. Her father had threatened to disinherit her, and on top of that kick her out. And there were other lovely threats that would also ensue if she didn't go thorough with the marriage.

'This is not what I wanted.' Though she was glad that nobody else was there to see her humiliation, she was overwhelmed with sadness when she realized she was all alone on her wedding day.

The empty halls seemed to be laughing at her, menacingly, as if they were enjoying every moment of her torment. Fully aware that she was running late, Hinata sprinted as fast as she could with her heels into the room where her father was sitting with Gaara and his father.

One glance at Gaara caused hands of depression to wrap themselves around Hinata's neck in a death hold. She wanted to cry or maybe even slap Gaara until he lost consciousness. It was all because of an early encounter with him that morning.

_Hinata watched as both fathers stepped into the church building. Gaara stayed behind, shuffling his feet and causing dirt particles to drift about the air. Hinata put one foot into the church before taking it back out and closing the door. Descending down the stairs, she walked towards Gaara, heart thumping madly with every step._

_She thought it would be better to talk to him so things wouldn't be so awkward. Putting on an unnoticeable smile, she spoke. "H-hey, Gaara-san.."_

_He abandoned kicking the ground, preferring to eye Hinata. Shoulders tensing, he looked at her with an unruly glare._

_Hinata pushed her hair back and looked down at the ground where the displaced dirt was starting to settle. 'I wonder if I should try and push my luck with him. But it looks like he wants me to disappear.'_

"_What." Hinata's head snapped up to face Gaara. Wearing an annoyed expression, Gaara repeated himself. "What!"_

"_Gaara-san, I j-just … wanted to t-talk to y-you. Y-you know… before we h-have to.. go through with it."_

_Gaara wanted to punch a wall. Hearing the girl talk was driving him onto the verge of insanity. "About what?"_

"_About.. about.. our en-en… gagement…"_

_Amused that Hinata was trying so hard to converse with him, Gaara decided to answer her. "This whole marriage is pointless, just like you. I'm only doing this because my father is forcing me. Otherwise, I don't think that I would ever go for a weak girl like you. You stutter, are clumsy, have no self-confidence, look stupid, and have nothing appealing about you. I guess I'll thank you for agreeing to it but don't expect me to love you. This marriage is strictly business." Gaara chuckled on the inside at the girl's horrified expression. It was exactly like the time when she had run out of the lunchroom._

"_O-o-"_

"_My dad promised me a house of my own if I marry you. I guess that's another incentive for me to deal with you." He cut her off, waves of pleasure riding up his spine as tear after tear started to descend from her eyes. "There's your conversation." He smirked at her before moving past her to enter the church. He paused momentarily, waiting to see if Hinata was going to talk._

_Biting her trembling lower lip, Hinata muted her sobs. She couldn't believe he was saying all those cruel things to her. She couldn't help but feel even weaker in his eyes whenever he was around her. Cheeks moist with tears, Hinata mentally slapped herself. 'I-I can't cry in front of him! He already thinks I'm useless!'_

"_T-tha-thank you for……for telling m-me thi-is, G-gaar, S-Sabaku-san." She launched herself past him in an effort to prevent him from seeing anymore displays of weakness. It wasn't fair. Nothing ever went her way. She collapsed onto the couch and sobbed, tears streaming into the fabric. _

Hinata avoided the pews and went to her father's side, dipping her head low in respect for the two men. She clamped down on her lower lip, attempting to keep her tears in check. If there was one person she didn't want to see her cry, it was her father. One person telling her that she was useless was enough. "F-father, I-I'm ready."

Hiashi looked at her approvingly, though displeased with how late she was. Instead of lecturing her about it though, he turned to Sabaku-sama to get an opinion.

His partner nodded and stared at his son. Gaara glared back in response. When his father's persistent stare did not waver, he responded, spite evident in his voice. "Yeah, I'm ready."

Nervous, Hinata alternated from looking at the floor to her feet and back again. She didn't know if she would ever find the strength to look at Gaara again.

The red-head rolled his eyes. He was right. The girl was low in self-confidence. A couple of words had caused her whole demeanor to change. Sure he had been cruel, but she hadn't even apologized after ruining his clothes and had been staring ridiculously at him like he was a specimen or something. She had it coming. So why was it bothering him? Blocking off his aggravating conscience, he nearly darted up to the altar where the priest was waiting. It was better to get the ceremony over with as soon as possible.

Hinata joined her groom, feeling gloom overtake her once more. Lonlieness was grabbing at her like a child would for toys. No one was happy that she was going to get married. Including herself.

"Alright, since we have both of you here today, I have a question. Do you two want to say the vows or just sign the papers?"

Gaara stared blankly at the man in front of him. Was he an idiot? Did he not know that neither of them wanted to go through with the marriage?

Hiashi answered for them. "Signing is fine. We want to get this over with."

The red-head's lips twisted into a natural frown. It wasn't as if they couldn't answer for themselves. "Yeah, papers are fine. I need to go to a soccer game."

"Since we have a mutual agreement, that's how we'll do it. Hyuuga-san, if you would sign here, then the deed will be done. Sabaku-san, sign on the spot right next to your wife's signature."

Recoiling at the word 'wife', Gaara took the paper from Hinata's hands. He signed it and glared at the priest dramatically. There was no way he was going to wait for his 'wife' to sign. By the time she mustered enough courage to sign the paper, the game would be over, or so he figured.

Hinata was heartbroken at this point. Nothing was going the way she imagined her wedding should. It was horrible and the worst part was that there were mobs of tears gathering that were willing to make a suicidal plunge from her eyes. Accepting the signed paper from her 'husband', Hinata watched as he walked back towards the pews.

'Alright, I can do this.' Attempting to remain as strong as she could, she lightly signed her signature into the parchment. She would not disgrace her father by crying in front of her new husband… and her father's new business partner. Signaling that she was finished to her father, Hinata turned away, unable to look at the two men shake hands. She felt as if she had just been sold and wondered if Gaara felt the same way. Violet eyes wandered over to where he was, or rather, where he had been sitting. Realizing he had left, Hinata bowed to all three men in the church before leaving herself. She was in desperate need of consoling and Ino was the only person who could give it to her.

&&&

Her hand tapped lightly on Ino's door.

Ino looked up from inside the house, wondering who it was. She had sent Shikamaru home an hour ago after a fun-filled day, so it couldn't be him. She removed the half-eaten apple from her mouth and answered the door.

Hinata, who had been leaning against the door up until that moment, fell forward at the sudden opening of it. That was it. After glaring at the carpet for two seconds, Hinata broke down. She couldn't hold in her tears any more.

Body tensing in worry, Ino gasped and helped her friend up from the ground. "Hinata!! I'm so sorry! What's wrong?" Distressed, she pushed Hinata down onto her couch. Brows pushed together, Ino glared in frustration. The girl was shaking uncontrollably and tears were not just running down her face. They were racing down at an alarming rate.

"What's wrong? Please tell me!" A shake of the head was all Ino needed for her to run into the kitchen for her father's soothing tea. She rushed madly through the cupboards and found the tea bag she was looking for. Quickly dumping it into a cup filled with pre-boiled water, she sprinted back to Hinata, the tea sloshing around and out of the cup.

Ignoring the mess that she made, she passed the remaining contents of the tea to the troubled girl. Rubbing small circles around Hinata's back, Ino questioned her again. "Really, what's wrong?"

"Marriage." She hiccupped. "Stutter, not a-appealing. G-Gaara."

Ino looked at her, trying desperately to understand. "What did Gaara do?"

Hinata took a deep breath to steady herself. "Gaara and I got m-married." Her shoulders slumped dejectedly. "W-we just n-now… against o-our will."

Ino bit her tongue accidentally and ended up yelling her response- in pain and disbelief. "What!!!!!!!! You got MARRIED? But you're only my age… right?"

"Our d-dads forced us t-to. It is f-for t-their business. T-to secure their p-partnership."

Ino shook her head, disgusted with the inhumane actions of the two men. "G-Gaara-san said c-cruel things to m-me."

Ino gave a look of sympathy before asking, "What did he say?"

"N-no, i-it's okay."

"Please, Hinata, it will make you feel better, trust me." Ino raised her fist, face scrunched into an furious expression. "If it was that bad, I'm going to MURDER him!"

"N-no! P-please d-don't!" Hinata grabbed Ino's fist and brought it down. She forced a smile through her tear-stained face, causing her to look even more depressed. "He didn't s-say anything b-bad." Hinata definitely didn't want Ino to go bother Gaara about it. She feared that it would annoy Gaara even more. That would be even more disastrous, seeing that they were bound to eachother through marriage now.

Giving Hinata a skeptical look, Ino crossed her arms. "I don't believe you, Hinata." After seeing the pleading look in Hinata's eyes, she sighed. Sometimes Hinata was just to kind. "Fine, I won't do anything to him, but you have to tell me what he said."

Deeply exhaling, Hinata prepared the sentences in her mind. She didn't want to stutter, especially when Gaara told her it was annoying. If she was going to stop, she had to start now. Surprisingly, she could remember his words quite clearly. "He said that he didn't want to marry me and he was only doing it because his dad made a deal with him."

Pausing for a moment, Hinata peered into Ino's face, checking to see if she was getting too riled up. Ino sighed. "Yes, I'm mad. But no, I won't go back on my word. Trust me."

Waves of relaxation ran throughout her body, soothing her jumpy stomach. Ino was right. It was making her feel **much** better. "He said I wasn't appealing, I stuttered to much, and other stuff like that."

Ino was mortified. Veins pulsing radically, her face darkened. She knew Gaara was cruel and cold, but this, this was downright evil! "Hinata! Don't let him push you around like that! I won't let him treat you like shit!" Ino stopped to glance at her friend's vexed face. "Fine, I won't do anything this time. But I will make him wish he was dead if he hurts you again. I swear on that! No matter what you say, I will kill him next time."

Hinata breathed a sigh of relief. Forgetting her 'vow' to refrain from stuttering, she whispered, "T-thank you." Hinata took the teacup gingerly into her hands and took a sip. She sighed again, the warmth oozing down her throat and soothing her tense body.

The blond didn't want to push Hinata any further, but she wanted to know what happened after that. "Hinata, if you don't mind, what happened after? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." She caught the small panic-stricken look that briefly came across Hinata's face, and contrary to her word, it made her want to make Hinata tell her story.

Knowing she had no other choice but to retell the events, Hinata began. "He l-left right after. S-something about a soccer game."

Ino was fuming at that point. Gaara had hurt her friend really badly and she couldn't do anything to defend her. And to top it off, Gaara ditched his wife for his lousy soccer game! The nerve! She let out a huge blast of air to let out her frustration and grabbed fistfuls of her shirt. After a couple of minutes of releasing, clenching, and re-releasing her shirt, Ino changed the topic to a lighter one.

"Did Naruto invite you to that soccer game Hinata-chan?"

"I d-don't think so…" Hinata tilted her head to the side, thinking. "I can't recall.."

Ino chuckled maliciously. "That means your free tonight! What do you want to do? We have to do something fun since the day sucked for you." Ino pushed her pointer finger onto Hinata's forehead, scolding the girl. "You can't just cry it off. You'll go crazy."

As much as she knew it would displease Ino, Hinata couldn't help but ask, "Can we g-go to the s-soccer game?" She wanted to see Gaara. She wanted to have something to talk about with him, something to break the frigid air of awkwardness between them.

Ino looked down, confused. "Why?"

A blush creeped it's way across Hinata's tender face. "I k-know he's m-mean and all, but I-I want to be able t-to talk to h-him."

Ino was worried about her friend, but if she really wanted to see Gaara, then she had no right to refuse. "Hinata, if you're going to talk to him, we are going to have to fix you up!" 'Maybe dressing her up will boost her self-confidence. Stupid Gaara with his unappealing crap.'

Eyes widening to the size of dinner plates, Hinata fell back into the couch of shock. "N-no! It's t-to much of a h-hassle for you! A-and I'm n-not that pretty so there isn't m-much you c-can do!"

The house lights increasing the evil glint shining in her eyes, Ino bent down to look Hinata straight in the eyes. "Oh no Hinata-chan! It's no hassle at all! Don't lie to yourself like that. You are beautiful. You have Naruto and Kiba practically drooling all over you! C'mon, let's go to my room. I think I have some things that'll sweep Gaara off his retarded feet."

"O-okay…" Hinata followed blindly, not knowing the horrors of makeup that awaited her.

The blond smiled happily. This would help Hinata a lot. "Let's go!"

&&&

Eyeing the very tempting mini stores lining the mall, Tenten walked past each one, resisting the urge to go in and buy everything. She and Sakura had gone to the mall to meet up with Ino and Hinata, and ended up running into Sai and Naruto along the way. She smiled and waved, "What are you guys doing here?"

Sai grinned happily. "We're planning our wedding."

Naruto smacked his forehead. "What?" After seeing the strange looks he was receiving from Tenten and Sakura, Naruto felt the need to deny everything. "I swear there is NO relationship!"

Tenten held her hand to her mouth, to cover her giggles and looked at Naruto sympathetically. "Cheating on Sasuke already Naruto?"

Naruto and Sai simultaneously glared daggers at Tenten. Holding her hands up in defense, Tenten felt her skin grow cold. "W-what?" She didn't know they would both get offended!

Clutching her face, Sakura trailed her fingers downwards, dragging her skin with them to make a disturbed facial expression. "What!? They were never in love in the first place!"

"Yeah, I'm straight!" Puffing out his chest, Naruto slapped his hand to the right side of it.

Sighing, Sai took Naruto's hand and pressed it against the boy's left hand side. "Here, dickless." Obviously in a bad mood, he walked off, stating something about stupidness being contagious.

Tenten's face contorted into a look of chagrin when Naruto clasped onto her, eyeing her happily. "Thank you for getting rid of him!"

Sakura scowled and tugged at Tenten's arm. "Let's go wander around 'till Hinata and Ino come."

Naruto's eyes, already set in puppy dog mode, peered at her, begging. "Fine! If you two want to come with us, you can. Happy?" Green eyes bent in frustration, Sakura sighed.

"Sai isn't coming." Naruto stuck up his head proudly.

"Ya know its useless Naruto, he's going to follow us anyway. He told me last time, he had a sensor for dickless people." Tenten laughed.

"No he won't." He hugged Sakura, as if that would help his argument. Tenten shooed them off and left to go get Sai.

"Get off me stupid!" Vein throbbing, Sakura pried the blond off of her and dumped him onto the floor.

"But Sakura…" He moped as the pink-haired girl stormed off, muttering that she was going to kill Ino if she didn't show up soon.

"C'mon Naruto, let's catch up to her!" Tenten pulled her friend up from the floor and started walking- Sai following right beside her.

Tenten and Sai paid no mind to the blond sulking behind them. Instead, Tenten racked her brain for conversation starters. Sai was hard to talk to. He never was the social type- unless it came to the topic of male body parts. "So…What are you guys doing here? Don't you have a soccer game later?"

"Yeah. Naruto wanted to buy Hinata a welcoming gift." He smiled half-heartedly, not feeling like wasting energy smiling for someone like her.

"Really? That's nice of him." Tenten looked around uncomfortably. "What did he have in mind?"

Ignoring the girl, Sai yelled, "Oh, there's dog-face!" intentionally wanting to rile Sakura up.

Naruto and Tenten held their breaths. They just had this ugly feeling that something was going to happen. The mall seemed to darken, an eerie light materializing around Sakura. The girl stared, face breaking into a uncanny grin. Slowly, almost painfully, she inched towards Sai and clamped her hand on his shoulder.

Sai smiled- striking the last nerve that Sakura had in her body. Even more annoyingly, he tilted his head to the side, cutely. "Did I say something wrong?" He then mouthed the words "pug-face."

"Sai, you didn't mean that, did you now." Sakura raised an eye-brow, cracking her knuckles at the same time.

Naruto and Tenten tried to run off to avoid witnessing brutal murder, but Sakura stopped them. "Don't move." Flames crackling in her green eyes, Sakura started running towards Sai. "I'M GOING TO BLOODY KILL YOU 'TILL YOU GO TO HELL WHERE YOU BELONG!"

"I'm sorry Sakura, I don't feel like goi—" He never got to finish his sentence. Sakura's foot met with his jaw and thrusted him down into the tiled floor. Sai ricocheted off the floor, but her abuse didn't stop there. The whole mall seemed to be quiet, busy watching the violent pink haired girl beat up her victim. There were 'oohs' and 'ahhs' as Sakura punched, kicked, bit, and slapped every inch of the boy that she could.

Naruto, unable to watch any longer, ran up to them, despite the danger of getting hit by Sakura. Valiantly, he pulled Sai away while Tenten held Sakura back.

While she yelled all sorts of profanities at Sai, Naruto tried to push Sai's dislocated joints into their respectable places. The bustling of the mall started once again, overpowering Sakura's constant screaming of 'Asshole!' and 'Bastard!'

Sai smiled, or at least, attempted to. His bruises were preventing him from smiling all the way. Thankfully, Hinata and Ino walked in, keeping Sakura from going through another round of trying to murder Sai.

Tenten tried to calm Sakura down, while waving at the two girls. Ino ran up to them with Hinata following close behind. "What happened here? There was this screaming, it sounded like someone was dying!"

Sweat pouring off Tenten like a river, she plugged Sakura's ears. Right now, Sakura was too vulnerable, to angry, to sensitive to anything. She would definitely take it the wrong way. "Y-you know, Sai said something he shouldn't have… and Sakura reacted… violently."

Hinata's hands flew to her mouth. She had no idea that Sakura was capable of… that. Sai looked mangled on the tiled floor, his bruises blending in perfectly with the blue and black. She wanted to run over, but Ino placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"It doesn't matter." Ino grabbed her worry-stricken friend and presented her to the gang. "Guys, we have a mission. We have to make Hinata-chan over here pretty for today's game!"

The other kids gaped at her, wondering what Ino was up to. There were plenty of projects that Ino had done before, all of them failing miserably. But Sai, despite his past experiences with her, brushed the dirt off of his pants and struggled to walk towards Ino. This time, he felt it was a good idea. "Let's go to that boutique over there."

Ino agreed and hurriedly shoved Hinata into the store. Unable to control her legs, Hinata allowed herself to be pulled around. What were they planning to do to her? Ino answered her question by dumping piles and piles of clothes into her arms. "Hmm, this one will do. Ooo! I like this one. Ah! I musn't forget this one!" The pile continued to grow, soon exceeding her eye level.

"U-uh…." Ino rushed the speechless girl into the changing room, excitedly. "Don't waste time stuttering!"

Meanwhile, Sai slipped in between two rows of clothing and picked out a short tank top and a checkered skirt. All wounds miraculously healed, he waltzed up to Naruto and bowed foolishly, offering him the clothing.

Misunderstanding, the blond giggled and took the clothes from Sai. "Thanks Sai, I'll show Hinata." He tried to hide his nosebleed and ran up to Ino, who was guarding the door to the changing room.

Sai trailed after him, moping. The clothes were meant for him, not Hinata. But he waited outside the room with the other kids patiently.

&&&

Hinata sighed as another outfit was thrown onto her pile from outside. She swam through the ocean of clothes, feeling dizzy. There were way too many things happening at once.

"Pick out what you like Hinata!" Ino yelled encouragingly from outside. Closing her violet eyes, Hinata randomly picked out what felt like a top and a skirt. She gasped; it was much more revealing than she had thought.

&&&

"Ino, should I choose your outfit?" Sai taunted.

Ino sneered at him. "I don't need you to pick my outfits." She eyed him, disapprovingly. "Unlike you, I have style. Go pick something else for Naruto, I'm sure he'll love it."

Naruto's face automatically snapped into a frown and he gave Sai a look that warned, 'Don't even think about it.' Sai giggled but continued his tension-filled conversation with Ino. "I'm sure you do. That's why you're dating a pineapple."

Grabbing the nearest hanger, Ino chucked it at Sai's head. "Hey, my style and my boyfriend's style are two different things." She grumbled under her breath. "And if I have anything to say about it, Shikamaru is going to lose his pineapple hair style by the end of the year."

&&&

Nervously, Hinata poked her head out of the changing room. "I'm ready."

Ino brightened immediately. "Come on out then!"

Extremely embarrassed and not used to showing so much skin, Hinata paused before walking out of the dressing room. The three girls gasped at Hinata's radical change and applauded in approval.

"Move, I wanna see!" Naruto pushed his way in and could feel his nose threaten to drip once again  
.  
Ino grabbed Sai and moved him forward so he could see as well. "You're missing out. That could have been Naruto in that." She taunted.  
Sai's cheeks reddened a little. "It was originally meant for him." He then placed his hand on Hinata's shoulder and spun her around, using his artist's eye to critique her. "You look some-what attractive."

"Yeah, for once Sai chose something right." Sakura added.

"You think s-so?" Hinata, suddenly feeling shy, pulled away from Sai and looked down at the floor.

Ino smiled. "Hinata, if Sai says so, then it's right. Anyway, let's go buy it!" She dragged the girl over to the cash register, oblivious to the line. The cashier frowned but rang them up anyway, unable to get a word of complaint into the two girls' ears. One looked as if she wanted to disappear on the spot while the other looked like she would kill if the clothes weren't bought right away.

After they finished, Naruto gave Hinata a lopsided grin before grasping Sai's arm. "Hey guys, we gotta get going. We have a game soon. See you around okay?"

"'Kay, bye!" The girl's chorused and they made their way towards the hair salon. There was no time to waste. If the boys were going to practice, that meant they only had a few hours left. And a girl's hair took forever to fix!

&&&

Naruto jumped up and down crazily in the locker room. "YEAH! Today we are definitely going to kick some ass! And I'm going to make the winning goal!"

Gaara glanced at him, quizzically. "What makes you think so?"

Freezing in mid-air, Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief. After crashing into the shin guards, his head popped up from the pile. "Because I rule! Just you wait. We are so going to win."

Kiba smacked the head protruding from the stack. "Don't get ahead of yourself Naruto. I'm making the winning goal this time around!"

"You dickless fools won't make any goals." Sai said in the midst of pulling up his pants.

And do you think you're going to make one?!?!?" Naruto and Kiba snarled.

"Of course not. That's why we have Lee."

"AH! Yes, Sai-kun you are correct. My youthfulness will guide me to kicking all of the goals. Naruto-kun, Kiba-kun, please realize that Gai-sensei's extra pointers really do help."

Naruto glared playfully at Lee. "Not even Gai-sensei could prepare you for me Lee! I'm going to beat all of you!"

Kiba laughed. "The last time I checked Naruto, soccer was a team sport."

Red-faced, Naruto turned his back on the team.

"Shut up. Let's just win." Gaara slammed the locker door as he left.

"Ah, he does not know the glory of teamwork." Lee tsked several times and wiped away a fake tear.

He tried to open the room door but failed. Gaara's unruly slamming of the door had jammed it. Lee pressed his foot against the wall and pulled with all of his might- and was sent flying to the other side of the room. It wasn't his strength, no; it was actually a familiar face that had decided to assist Lee with his trouble.

"Heh, I didn't think that we would have to play against you losers."

Lee, fully recovered from his flight, immediately sprang up. "Oh Sasuke-san! One of my rivals! I am pleased to let you know, we will beat you!"

Naruto turned around at the familiar voice. "SASUKE?!?!" Getting over his original reaction, he jabbed Sasuke in the chest. "We're not LOSERS!"

Smirking with that priceless mouth, Sasuke crossed his arms. "Dobe, what do you think you can do that I can't do better?"

Sai smiled at Sasuke before walking past him, coolly. Their shoulders bumped against one another and Sai whispered, "Sex."

Naruto's anger was redirected, his face flushed into a nice shade of crimson. "SAI!" Naruto wailed and pushed him out of the room. Pushing his back to the door to block it, the boy glared at his eternal rival. "Sasuke, I can do everything better than you!"

Sasuke glared, puzzled at the strange scene that had occurred before him. Brushing off the invisible dirt from his soccer uniform, he sorted out his thoughts. Naruto was gay? Deciding that it was unimportant, he looked down at Naruto again. "We'll see that on the field."

"Ya Sasuke-teme!! We WILL see it on the field, when I beat you and your lousy team!"

Lee, feeling the same passion burning inside of Naruto inside himself, joined in. "Yes, you will witness defeat like you have never felt before!"

Rudely, Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the scruff of his neck and pushed him away from the door, shoving him hard into the lockers. He left, without even a small glance back at the two boys.

Eyes flaming, Lee placed both of his hands on Naruto's shoulders. "Let's beat them!"

_&"Yeah!"&_

A/N: Hey, for once, it isn't Hinata talking at the end! I was actually going to add more to this chapter, but I felt like there wouldn't be so much of a wait for the next chapter then! I don't want to do any more work. Do any of you have good stress relievers?

Oh by the way, surprised that they are getting married so quickly? Stunned that Hinata got an arranged marriage? Good! It's supposed to be like that. Feeling like Hinata yet? ;)

Be ready for Chapter 4… Well, actually, I'm going to put this fic on hold for a while. Sorry, I have final exams coming up, projects and other commitments piling up. (ex: a creation story for my group's history project) But don't worry, the hold won't be for long... I think.

Dislaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, it would be a musical or an opera. Imagine, Sasuke singing! "Oh, I want to kill my broTHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!" And Itachi doing the background, "You lack HATREEED!" with the Tamaki pose from Ouran High School Host Club. If you haven't read/watched that series, you are seriously missing out ;). I have nothing against Sasuke and Itachi btw.

Naruto, the musical. XD


	4. Degrading admiration

_They say that when you date someone, you should enjoy the time you have because it won't last. Marriage is saved for when you're mature and have a wider knowledge of things. At my age, you aren't going to marry the person you are going out with right now- it won't last! It's an unsolvable equation. But when the parents are on one side of the scale and tipping it so that the measurement isn't set to be zeroed out, it makes this unbalanced weight seem steady. It's cheating us of our rights, rendering us speechless. Neither of us can say a word to them, to defy them. Is dealing with it the only answer?_

& Degrading Admiration &

The fluffy splashes of grey crowded together in the sky, blocking out the sun and only allowing small specs of it to show through the vast, darkened clouds. It foretold a storm, increasing the impatience of the two girls waiting for a taxi.

Ino tapped her foot impatiently, growling underneath her breath. She placed her hands around her upper arms, trying to cease the itch to destroy the first thing that came in sight. "Where is that stupid taxi? We're late!!!"

"I-I'm sure it'll come soon Ino-chan." Hinata reassured her with a small smile though inside, she was growing impatient as well. She readjusted the shopping bag perched on her arm and looked inside, hoping to find a distraction to make her forget about the taxi cab that refused to show up.

"But Hinata-chan!!" Ino huffed, her blue eyes twitching. "We could miss the game! And more importantly, you could miss your chance to beat…erm… I mean talk some sense into Gaara!" She pounded her fist into her hand, mouth set in a permanent frown.

Hinata sighed and looked expectantly at the road. She knew they were running late. But what was there to do when there was no taxi in the swarm of cars to take them to the game?

Suddenly, she spotted a flashing blue light that was slowly coming into view. Hinata felt a wave of relief spread throughout her body. She grabbed Ino's upper arm and pointed toward the light blue taxi approaching them. "Ino-chan, I found a taxi."

Ino stood on her toes and peeked out into the busy street. Squinting her eyes, she peered out, and eventually, a grin fell upon her face. "Oh my god Hinata!! You're a life saver!"

Grinning, Ino looped her arm through Hinata's and immediately started pulling her towards the oncoming taxi. "Oh my god Hinata! You're a life saver!"

"Let's wave to it!" Bright grins adorning both girl's faces, they both began to wave crazily, to desperate to think of appearances.

The taxi cab, now in full view, expertly swerved to the left and stopped right in front of the two invitingly. The driver rolled down the passenger side window and asked, half jokingly, "Do you two like me that much?"

Thinking of nothing but the game Ino ignored the driver, grabbed the handle of the cab door violently and yanked it open, almost tearing the handle off. She jumped in and told the driver where they were headed, not bothering to add in a "please" or "thanks for stopping for us" in any of her sentences. Scooting over so Hinata had enough room, she yelled, "C'mon! Hinata get in! We don't have all day!"

"O-okay." Hinata rushed into her seat and closed the door gently after her. She shook her head at the stressed blond. Ino was rushing way too much. Even she, the one who wanted to see Gaara in the first place, wasn't in that much of a hurry.

The blond drummed her fingers on her knee, her chin held in the palm of her other hand. Impatientness was practically radiating off her. "Can't you go any faster?" She insisted upon the driver.

"Ino-chan…" Hinata placed a hand on the blond's twitching fingers, pressing them down on them lightly to stop their movements. "We don't have to rush."

Ino just stared out the window, her fingers escaping from Hinata's grasp. They took to dancing on the windowsill, aggravating Hinata even more. "Go as fast as possible!"

"Yeah, yeah, I got you the first time. I'll get there as fast as I can. But it'll cost you extra! After all, it's going to be dangerous." He winked at the two girls before picking up the speed of the car.

Distressed, Hinata blew the bangs out of her eyes and intertwined her fingers together as if she was going to pray. But when the taxi started making dangerous turns and started jerking her body around, she chose to clamp her hands firmly atop her seatbelt. She wanted to slow down and with Ino's constant pestering of "Go faster!" Hinata was sure that she was going to shoot out of her seat.

The car continued to make extremely risky twists and turns around the side streetsIno's percussion solo on the windowsill carried on until she recognized the scenery flying past her. As they drew near the park, she took out her purse, eyes carefully eyeing the tab. "You can drop us off at the soccer field gates."

Hinata's eyes widened at the high rates of the bill. It was so much higher than she had expected! She took out her own wallet, wanting to contribute to this large fee. "H-here."

Ino shook her head, not wanting to accept Hinata's money, but Hinata continued to poke it at her. Ino sighed and took the money; wasting time arguing over who was going to pay the bill was pointless. They were already so late! "Here, you can drop us off now."

The car skidded to a stop and the driver turned around to accept his money. He grinned, his face full of glee when he saw his payment, making his face look cute, childish even. From what Hinata saw of him, he was probably in his early twenties- a little to old for her. "Thanks, hope you use the blue taxi again!"

"T-thank you!" Hinata smiled and waved at him, feeling all giddy inside. He was really nice and it was surprising how a small thing such as like a smile could lift her mood, though she was sad to see Ino acting so rude.

Mind too occupied, Ino failed to remember to be polite and promptly dragged Hinata by the hand to the gates. Her eyes scanned the bustling crowd, looking for one pineapple shaped head. Hinata clamped onto Ino's hand, having no idea where she was being taken, and held no intention of losing herself in the hectic crowd.

Ino dropped Hinata's hand so she could climb up onto one of the empty bleachers. She stood up on it, looking around. "Where is he? He promised that he would meet us right here!" She started huffing. Suddenly, Ino's feet were no longer on the ground. Surprised, she let out a small 'Oh!" and whipped her head around, only to find herself picked up bridal style.

"There, I finally picked you up. Now you can't complain." 

Ino's breath caught in her throat for a second, but once she saw that it was Shikamaru, she laughed. "Ha! I didn't think that you had the strength!"

"I don't." He placed her back to her original standing position on the bleachers, rubbing the back of his neck. "Did you gain some weight?"

Ino glared dangerously, her ocean-blue eyes filled with warning. "If I were you, I would start running and hope that you get away in time, if I were you." Her hand was wound into a tight fist but her foot was the first to attack the clueless boy.

Shikamaru gritted his teeth in pain, a frown prominent on his face, but kept silent. What happened to giving someone a little time between a warning and an attack? He refrained from voicing his pain, not wanting to let Ino feel victorious. Through his teeth, he asked, "What took you so long?"

She purposefully ignored his question to irk him. Turning towards Hinata, Ino had the fullest intent to introduce the two to eachother. "Hinata, this is Shikamaru, my worthless boyfriend."

"N-nice to m-meet you Shika-Shikamaru-s-san." She bowed quickly and he nodded lazily in return.

"Call him Shika. He doesn't deserve the honorific." Ino crossed her arms and snickered, catching the small twitch in Shikamaru's left eye.

"Tch. Women." He wanted to say something witty back but smartly stopped himself in self preservation.

All three students immediately turned, eyes zoning in on the field. Naruto was slumped on the ground and his teammates were in disarray. They didn't look too happy and the scoreboard wasn't exactly a nice sight.

They had lost the game.

All their hard work gone to waste.

Hinata paled. What would she talk about now? She hadn't watched the game at all; she was to busy watching Shikamaru and Ino talk to each other. Would she say that she was sorry that Gaara lost? That would be so… cruel.

Muttering an excuse to go to the field that wasn't heard over the roar of the crowd, Hinata jumped down from the bleachers and ran over to the grassy field. And as if on cue, it began to rain.

&&&

Naruto mercilessly ripped out stalks of grass from the field; he was pissed. The rain wasn't helping. Sasuke proudly walked up to his opponents, unable to resist the chance to poke fun at them. "Hn, I told you that we would win."

Gaara spat at Sasuke's shoes, voicing his opinion quite loudly. Naruto immediately jolted up and grabbed Sasuke by the collar, blue eyes flaring with rage. "Shut up loser! I just let you win!"

Sasuke stared down at him, being the taller of the two. "Of course you did, dope. It had nothing at all to do with my skill." His voice dripped with sarcasm and vice.

"Shutup teme!" Naruto pulled Sasuke's wet shirt collar, dragging his opponent's face down so their noses were touching. Looking straight into his eyes, he spat, "We went easy on you."

"Face it Naruto, your little team is nothing without me." A superior smug fitted on his face, he continued. "Without my leadership, look where you guys landed! At the bottom of the scoring charts. We creamed you." He pushed his soaked bangs out of his eyes.

Naruto released Sasuke, his toes aching from supporting his weight. Glaring at the taller boy, Naruto gritted his teeth. "You-" the blond turned, feeling a hand on his shoulder. Lee looked at him disappointedly, before facing Sasuke.

"Naruto-kun, his team won fair and square." He held out a bandaged hand to Sasuke, good sportsmanship was more important than pride.

"Lee, don't shake hands with that-!" 

Sasuke scoffed at the extended hand and walked away. "Later losers."

Mouth hung open, Naruto's eyes were practically bulging out in disbelief. "THAT JERK!" He started to run over to Sasuke but Kiba and Sai restrained him, holding both his arms back and lifting him into the air.

The sky darkened simultaneously with Naruto's face. "Let me GO!" Naruto twisted and turned against their hold trying to escape. He started screaming out of anger and the thunder roared with him, both demonstrating their fury.

"Leave him alone Naruto!"

"Yeah come on! We know he's a jack ass. Just leave him alone!" Sai and Kiba yelled, trying to calm the angered blond down and convince him to stop struggling, but that was like telling a mountain to move.

"JACK ASS! LEMME GO! LEMME GO! LEMME GO!" He continued to scream until his voice was nothing but a hoarse squeak. Sai sighed and patted Naruto on the head.

"Don't react to him Naruto-kun. He's just pushing your buttons."

"BUT, BUT! BASTARD!" The blond settled down and eventually, his teammates stopped holding onto him. He sat dejectedly on the ground, the muddied field tarnishing his clothes. Kiba huffed and looked in the other direction towards their goal where the final kick had ended everything. He kicked at the mud and soon his shoes were decorated with the brown muck.

Kiba screamed, "Damn it!" into the weeping sky, continuing Naruto's unfinished rant.

Gaara calmly offered his hand to Naruto, accepting the loss already. "We'll just train harder!" He spoke out to the team that was scattered around the field. "We'll win next time so don't waste time complaining!"

Naruto looked up, a forced smile on his mouth. "Yeah." He took his captain's hand, taking advantage of his the rare show of kindness. He stood up and disappeared into the school, satisfied with Gaara's proposition. The other kids on the team nodded in agreement and left for the changing room to get out of their drenched clothing and to escape the rain.

Gaara scanned the bleachers, admiring the raindrops hopping off the steel. Finding all the bystanders gone, he looked over the field. He found the area to be empty as well and was about to leave when something held him back. He looked at the field once more and caught what he had missed. In the sidelines was a girl with her clothes plastered to her skin. Her hair stuck to her face and the dark sky made her look pitiful and almost ghostly. He walked towards her, curious to why she was standing there.

Were there tears on her face or was it the rain that was creating that illusion? He walked past her and grimaced, recognizing that it was Hinata. He turned around and stood there, looking for someone that was waiting for her. Finding no one and feeling some responsibility, he, very curtly, told her, "You should go."

She fiddled with the hem of her tank top and looked at her husband. "Gaa-" The words caught in her throat and minutes ticked by as she struggled to speak her mind. The red head waited patiently for her, for reasons unknown even to him. "G-good…j-job t-today." Her stuttering was even worse since her teeth were chattering.

He nodded briefly before turning his head in the direction of the locker rooms. "Go home. You'll get sick." He to, walked into the school, leaving Hinata by herself.

She brought her hands to her eyes to wipe the tears away from them. "Thank you." She whispered. There had been no criticism in his words. There was only sincere worry and zero cynicism. He cared. He really cared. She walked back to the bleachers and sat there, letting the raindrops wash away her tears. She smiled, feeling warmth even though she was cold.

&&&

"A-are you sure w-we're allowed t-to be here I-Ino-chan?" Hinata tugged anxiously at her friend. There was this nagging feeling in the back of her mind that told her she wasn't allowed in the school after hours. In fact, she was almost certain that if caught, it could potentially harm her school records.

"Shhhhhh! You don't want to get caught now do you?" Ino shushed her before returning to crawling along the fence. Ino had found Hinata sitting in the rain and had taken her home, scolding her for staying out there for so long. After they had warmed up and dried their clothes, Ino explained that there was an after party, regardless of win or loss and so she wanted to take Hinata there.

Ino stopped moving and began to climb up the fence that blocked off the school from the main road. Hinata copied her motions, and they were up, over, and across the school yard in no time.

Though it was dark, a light could be seen emanating from the gym windows.

Ino knocked on the door three times before there was a voice at the door. "What's the pass code?"

The light escaping through the crevice in the door illuminated Ino's face enough so that Hinata could see the blond roll her eyes. "Naruto rules."

"Yeah!" Naruto gleefully opened the door and ushered the girls in.

"You know, we really need to change that password." Ino crossed her arms. The only reason the group had agreed to that password was because Naruto was incapable of memorizing anything else.

"Pshaw! Never!" Naruto stuck his tongue out before enveloping Hinata in a tight embrace. "Glad to see ya!" Her face turned into a cherry red and remained that way, even when he released her.

"Heheheh, Hinata-chan's so cute!" He took her by the hand gently and brought them to the inner gym where the gang was sitting.

They were in a circle, each with a beer in hand. Apparently, they had been drinking, since there were small piles strewn around the matted floor. Hinata doubted that any of them had thought about the potential stench of beer surrounding the teachers when they came in Monday morning. She kept her thoughts to herself, knowing that none of the kids would appreciate it. After all, they had lost a game and felt crappy enough.

Tenten waved and patted the empty area next to her. "You guys can sit here! C'mon, we've already started our game of spin the bottle!" 

Kiba grabbed the bottle and spun it, chuckling when it landed on Hinata. "Hey there." His words were slurred, the drink kicking in. He rose slowly but was roughly shoved back down. Naruto glared down at him defiantly.

"Hinata's first kiss is mine!"

"But yours isn't hers." Sai interjected while smiling happily. He had been the one to steal Naruto's kiss much to the blond's dismay.

"Is that a challenge?" Kiba quipped. Naruto was _so_ not going to hog a pretty girl like Hinata.

"No, it's an order. Her kiss is _mine_!" Naruto stuck his nose in the air, going for a stuck-up look. It made him look quite the opposite of his goal, and the kids ended up bursting out in laughter.

"N-Naruto! You look so stupid!" Tenten and Ino giggled, clutching their stomachs in pain. Even Hinata cracked a smile, before a serious look overtook her face.

She had to find her husband. She wasn't sure if he was at the party, but she felt the need to look for him. She wanted to see him and thank him for caring for her. And if she was lucky, they could get into a conversation and then she would be able to get to know him better. "U-uh, I'm going to the b-bathroom."

Ino glanced up- the others were to engrossed in the game that Naruto had started again. "Want me to come along?"

"N-NO! I-It's f-fine!" Hinata shook her head, alarmed. If Ino came along, her plan would be ruined!

"Okay… um, don't get lost." She tossed Hinata a beer. "Take it. You might get thirsty." She winked and turned back to the circle. "Alright, lemme spin!"

&&&

She didn't have the foggiest idea where she was headed, nor did she even stop to think about it. She just looked around the hallways, trying to find any room with a light. The darkened school was starting to creep her out. She made sure to keep the gym in view. Walking down the empty corridors, she found a light coming from her left side so she turned and knocked.

There was nothing but silence. She knocked again, before opening the door. Rows and rows of lockers filled the room. Hinata stared for a while, before it finally dawned on her. It was the boy's locker room! Her hands flew to her face and she covered her eyes immediately, even though there wasn't anyone there. She began to inch her way out of the room when a voice interrupted her escape.

"Who's there?"

'EEP!' Hinata dropped the beer on the ground unceremoniously. It landed with a loud 'thunk.'

Fright froze her legs on the spot, rendering her immobile. She didn't answer, but heard the owner of the voice start to walk towards her. Each step resounded around the room loudly, adding to her fear. What if it was the principal? The janitor? Or even worse, a boy?

She willed her legs to move and left the room- that is, she would have succeeded if it wasn't for a certain someone closing off her means of escape. Slowly, she turned to face the person who was leaning over her.

"G-Gaara-s-s-s-san!" He towered over her- she was about a head short. She peered up at him, her face a monochromatic color scheme of red. "I…I…"

He glowered at her. What was she doing here? Didn't he tell her to leave? Gaara tugged on a lock of her hair forcefully- Hinata yelped in surprise. "Go home."

He left her to go back to his place on the bench, but instead of leaving, Hinata followed. Her eyes widened at the gigantic pile of beer he had consumed. Piled together, she swore that it could reach her stomach or maybe even higher!

"Didn't I tell you to leave?" His voice was so clear, for someone so drunk. Hinata held her breath. The stench of alcohol was too strong for her to stand.

"I-I wanted to t-talk…."

The red-head grunted before standing up. He walked up to the persistent girl and glared. "I'll tell you one last time. Leave."

"B-but, I…" She grabbed his hand boldly, her want to talk to him stronger than her fear.

In a surge of rage, Gaara took both of her wrists and slammed Hinata into the lockers. She bit her lip to keep from crying out in pain, but she couldn't hide the fact that it had hurt. The blood on her lower lip was proof of how much pain she was harboring.

"You're annoying." He breathed into her ear. Her back was throbbing as was her head and not to mention, Gaara was almost crushing her wrists against the metal lockers.

"G-Gaara-san, stop! It hurts!" She panted. Gaara sadistically took her hand and rammed it against the dials, grinning every time she squeaked in pain. Hinata looked at him in horror. He was too drunk. This had to stop- and soon.

Pinning her arms above her head, Gaara took the liberty of looking Hinata up and down. She squirmed uncomfortably from his gaze.

'She actually has a figure.' He felt a slight blush settle itself on his cheeks. Her clothes looked unexplainably tight on her and were awfully short. It made her look somewhat appealing. He licked his lips, eyes glazing over with lust.

Hinata shivered. There was a frightening gleam overcoming her husband's pale, green eyes. "G-Gaara-san?"

Smirking, he leaned forward and Hinata felt something warm- something wet- gliding over her ear. She shivered, electricity jolting down her spine. Gaara was definitely not himself. She felt slightly drugged as his tongue moved from her ear to trace her jaw line. It slid all the way to her chin, his rugged panting tickling her skin.

He paused for a moment in front of her bleeding lower lip, giving Hinata a chance to regain her senses. "Gaara, p-please!"

"Okay." He whispered and licked the blood from her lip, frowning from the foreign metallic taste. He ran his tongue on her lips again, noticing how labored her breath was growing, how slick her lips were, and how hot he was feeling. He was about to kiss her when she roughly shoved him off her.

Gaara fell into the bench and Hinata stared wide-eyed for a brief moment. "What the hell?" He spat, more surprised than angry.

"This i-isn't right." She wiped her lip and tried to steady her breathing. She had to leave soon. Her resistance was wearing thin. Turning, she started to leave when two arms wrapped themselves around her.

"You wouldn't leave when I told you to. So why leave now?" He nuzzled his head in the spot between her head and shoulder and nipped at her neck.

'Someone help!' She wanted to cry out, but her throat was dry. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing to accept her fate. No one would help her. She was going to be raped by her own husband. Crying, she blindly tried to push him off. No! She still had a chance. There was no way she was going to give in.

"…" Gaara rolled his eyes at her frantic clawing at him. He shoved her against the lockers once more. Her tears continued to flow down but he ignored them. Instead, Gaara used one hand to pin both of her hands above her head once more. With the unoccupied one, he ran his hand slowly up her thigh, torturing her. He loved the fright in her eyes. She deserved to be scared. She ruined his life.

It was all her fault.

She had ruined everything.

By marrying her, he couldn't even leave to become a professional soccer player. His father found a way to tie him down.

Another tear fell from her pale eyes.

He gritted his teeth.

Abandoning her leg, he brought his hand to her shirt. He slowly raised it up, but then thought better of it. Wasn't a girl's main priority her first kiss? He cupped her face and brought it close to his face. He looked deep into those violet eyes of hers as if they would answer his deepest questions.

Why wasn't she crying out? Why wasn't she saying anything in protest?

He looked into her eyes. Was that pity he saw there? Was there love in those clear eyes of hers? Forgiveness?

He slammed his fist into the locker beside her face before releasing her. She collapsed on the floor sobbing.

He grabbed another beer and chugged it down, wiping his mouth with his sleeve afterwards. He felt so shitty. He searched for another one and rolled his eyes angrily. There was only one left. He grabbed it and opened it, only to have it whisked out of his hand. He glared at Hinata, who by that time had wiped all of her tears away.

She looked at him, her eyes narrowed, and she drank the whole can. A feeling of dizziness rushed over her but she kept a straight face.

The two would have glared at each other forever if the beer hadn't decided to kick in and knock Gaara out. He shut his eyes and reeled headfirst into the floor but Hinata cushioned his fall. Sure she felt violated but she wasn't heartless.

Fresh tears formed in her eyes and she let them fall. She would have started sobbing, but she felt someone entering the room. She lowered Gaara's head onto the floor gently and looked out. It was Naruto. She sighed gratefully. If it was Ino, she was sure that Gaara would have been killed.

"Hinata!" A look of alarm ran across his face. "What happened?" He clutched her tear-stained face. She flinched at the contact, remembering what Gaara had done to her. She instinctively pushed him away and looked down at the ground.

The blond frowned and peered behind her to see Gaara on the floor. Taking the pile of beers into account, he then looked at Hinata's state. Her hands seemed a bit bruised and her hair and clothes were in disarray. She also seemed more withdrawn than usual.

"Hinata!" Naruto clutched her shoulders and pulled her close. His eyebrows furrowed together when her hands pushed against his chest. She was pushing him away. He hugged her even tighter, hands rubbing her back. "Did he…" He paused. He didn't want to pry, but he had to know. "Did he hurt you?"

Hinata smiled weakly and shook her head. Naruto frowned and pushed her away far enough so that he could see her face. Hands on her shoulders, he asked her once more. She shook her head again and hid her hands behind her back, finally noticing the bruises. "N-Nothing h-h-happened. I-I'm oo-ok."

"Are you sure?" It was so obvious that she was hurt! It was written all over her face.

"Y-Yes." Hinata hugged herself and pulled herself out of Naruto's grasp. She looked over at the lockers where Gaara had smashed her hands against and stiffened. Should she tell?''

Naruto sighed in pity. She was protecting Gaara. Even after all of that, she would still protect him. "Hinata." She refused to look at him. "Hinata, tell me. Why are you protecting him? He hurt you!" Moving behind her, he began to massage her shoulders, trying to get her to relax.

Hinata closed her eyes, sighing softly. "He didn't hurt me."

"LOOK!" He grabbed her hands and shoved the bruises in front of her face. "Look. Don't tell me that he didn't hurt you. And your hair and clothes are a mess! Please, tell me."

Hinata trembled. She didn't_ want_ to remember. But she would tell him one thing. "We're married."

"WHAT!?" Naruto fell back into the mountain of beers, crushing them with his weight. A bunch of crackling sounds echoed around the room, adding to the surprise. Naruto moved his mouth, trying to speak, but no words came out.

"It was an a-arranged marriage. N-now p-please… forget everything I said." Hinata looked away, feeling ashamed.

"I-I… I can't believe this…" So that's why she was protecting him. But she shouldn't have to deal with this abuse. Even if Gaara was drunk, this was inexcusable! "Still…"

"Please, just forget this!" Hinata muted her sobs by biting her lip but the tears still spilled down. She was so frustrated. Why wouldn't Naruto understand!? She didn't want tell him anything. She needed to accept what happened first before she could tell anyone!

Naruto shut his eyes in deep thought. She was so desperate. Was he supposed to just let it go like that? When Gaara had almost or maybe he had actually raped her. He knew he was going to regret this decision, but he decided to let it go. Of course, he would keep surveillance over Gaara and make sure he didn't touch Hinata at all. "Alright. Don't worry. I'll forget everything."

"Thank you." She sighed in relief.

"But what are you going to do with him? He's blacked out. And we can't keep him here because the janitors will be in tomorrow."

A small beeping sound came from his pocket and he signaled for Hinata to wait a minute. Naruto opened up his cell phone and quickly read his text message. "Everyone left. Lee was the last one to go. So really, what are we going to do with Gaara? I can't take him to my house because the old, fat lard, Jiraya-sensei is crashing there. That stupid pervert was kicked out of his house!" He shook his head. "So there isn't any room and I don't know where Gaara lives so I can't take him there."

Hinata thought for a moment and then shyly offered to take him to her home.

Naruto was utterly and completely shocked. "Are you CRAZY? What if he wakes up? What if he attacks you? What if-"

"T-that's a hypothetical s-situation. I-I'll be fine."

"I'm going with you guys then."

It was Hinata's turn to be shocked. "W-What!?!?"

"I'm not letting you go with a drunk no matter how blacked out he is. For your safety, I'm going too."

"N-no!" Hinata was fine with Gaara going to her house- he wasn't awake! But for Naruto to see her house… well… that was horrible! Flustered, she shook her head no over and over again.

"I'm keeping your secret so I'll take this as payment." He stuck out his tongue and picked up Gaara. He started to walk out with him, saying, "I'm going whether you say yes or not." with a determined voice. And Hinata knew she had no choice but to comply. She followed him out reluctantly and walked with Naruto to his car. The chances of Naruto just leaving her alone with Gaara was zero out of a billion anyway.

_& Her sister and father were out of town so it didn't matter……… &_

"I would like to get them a house. They're are married after all. There's no need for them to live apart." _Not to mention that it would be a relief to have her out of my house._

"Hn. I suppose it would be efficient." _I would like him out of my house as well._

A/N. Since I haven't updated in a long time, here's a long chapter to make up for it ). I'm actually updating this at 2:50 A.M.!! Why? Because I'm leaving for Mexico at 5:45. So enjoy and **review a lot!!** Especially since I'm not in the U.S. Sorry I haven't updated in a while.

I'm thinking about releasing another story because I have this HUMUNGO list of fanfic ideas that I want to write.I'm pretty sure it'll be up before this fanfic is finished.

Wish me luck?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. But if you did, what would you change? I know I would change that one thing with Konohamaru's Sexy Jutsu to Sai and Naruto! (obviously) And Sai would be on top. Why was Sasuke on top anyway!?!?!?!?!? (anger anger anger lol)


	5. 5 steps backward and 3 steps forward

_The clock keeps ticking. I feel like I'm running out of time. And my head hurts like hell._

&5 steps backward and 3 steps forward&

Gaara rubbed the sleep from his eyes and mechanically rose from the bed. Still sleepy, he glanced around- something didn't feel right. He tried to stand but was inflicted with a severe headache. It felt as if someone had smacked him on the head with a bag full of bricks, several times. Steadying himself with the headboard of the bed, he wobbled out and took a long look at the room he was in.

It was definitely not his room. Last time he checked he didn't have teddy bears and dolls scattered about. And now that he thought about it… neither did Temari's.

So where the hell was he?

He shut his eyes trying to block out the dizziness accompanying his headache and somehow made it to the door. He stumbled down the stairs clutching onto the railing as if his life depended on it. He heard voices to his right so he sat down on the bottom step, planning to listen in on the conversation and maybe get some clue as to where he was.

"Naruto-kun i-it's okay, really."

"No it's not! Hinata, we need to report this. You could have been killed or something! Good thing Gaara fainted before he got far."

Gaara frowned. What was Naruto talking about?

"N-Naruto-kun, he wouldn't kill me and he didn't-"

"I KNOW he didn't rape you." With a loud 'thwack' sound, Naruto slapped his hands on the table to convey his frustration. "But what if he hadn't passed out? Would you still stay quiet about it? I don't get it Hinata. He hurt you. I mean look at your hands!" The blond sighed heavily, shaking his head.

Gritting his teeth Gaara grasped his head with both of his hands in pain. It felt like his brain was getting stabbed by a needle in multiple places over and over again. He tried to ignore the surges of pain rushing through his head and tried to listen in on the conversation but it was too much to bear. Yielding to the agonizing throbbing, he shut his eyes and somehow managed to recline onto the stairs. Groaning inwardly, he clutched his head before opening his eyes wide.

He remembered. The pain receded as his memory captured his attention. So that's what the two were talking about. Like a zombie he rose from the stairs and dragged his feet across the floor to where the conversation was being held.

Hinata and Naruto's conversation died away as Gaara approached, his footsteps announcing his entrance. Clearly their talk wasn't supposed to be heard by a third party. If there was any question about it their facial expressions cleared all doubts.

"G-good m-m-m-orning G-gaara-san." Hinata bowed her head, unable to look him in the eye.

Naruto on the other hand had no problem whatsoever. He stood up and immediately grabbed the red-head by the scruff of his neck, cerulean eyes flashing angrily like lightning across the skies. "You fucking bastard!" Catching Gaara off guard, Naruto pushed him to the floor and began to punch him viciously, taking advantage of Gaara's hesitance. "You're gunna regret ever coming near Hinata!"

"N-naruto-kun! D-don't!" Hinata jumped up from her seat, toppling the chair over and desperately tried to pull Naruto off Gaara. She didn't tell Naruto what had happened the day before so he could beat Gaara up!

Naruto pushed her back gently and continued attacking until Gaara thrusted his fist into Naruto's stomach. Feeling the impact of the hit, Naruto gagged and clutched his stomach giving Gaara a chance to stand up and defend himself. While Naruto was still doubled over on the floor Gaara lifted his leg and slammed it down onto the blonde's back sending tiny droplets of blood flying from Naruto's mouth. "What I do is none of your business." His voice was steely, devoid of any emotion.

"Bastard…" Naruto wheezed out between gasps.

With a bloodthirsty look painted over his green irises, Gaara thrusted his foot into Naruto's side and sent Naruto rolling into the stack of mahogany chairs adjacent to the unset table. The furniture rocked violently and fell over, chairs narrowly missing Naruto and crashing into the floor. A crazed smile on his face that seemed eerily way too natural, Gaara walked over with a chair in hand planning to crush the blond.

Grasping the danger of the situation, Naruto swallowed and begged his body to move. But his body was frozen stiff with fear because his mind had already anticipated his death. Finding he was immobile and helpless, Naruto shut his eyes and waited for the blow that would probably award him with first-class tickets to heaven. That is, if there was one.

Minutes ticked by and still- was he still alive? Naruto cracked one eye open and thought his heart was going to stop. Hinata was hugging the grim reaper with her head buried against his chest, whimpering.

"P-please… S-Stop." Hinata looked up at Gaara pleadingly. Her eyes grew watery and Gaara was abruptly depleted of all intent to kill. "Please, both of you." She looked over at Naruto, giving him the same distressed look she had displayed for Gaara moments ago. Naruto nodded though he looked slightly perturbed. Hinata glanced back up at Gaara, only releasing him when he gave a reassuring sigh. He dropped the chair and took a step back to show that he wasn't interested in fighting anymore.

Naruto was speechless. Wiping the blood on his sleeve, he took the chair Hinata had knocked over and set it upright. Then he walked over to Hinata, grabbed her by the crook of her arm and pulled her back into the chair to distance her from Gaara. He wanted to ask her if she was crazy or if she had a death wish but on the other hand, he truly wanted to thank her.

Gaara felt irritated. And it wasn't because she had interrupted the fight or any other reason. Seeing the two converse like long-time pals and watching how Naruto was fussing over her was making his skin crawl. Why? Well, reasons never really mattered to Gaara. He just did what he wanted to. Nonetheless, irritating things needed to be taken care of.

If the phrase "saved by the bell" ever needed to be applied, this, truly, was the best time. Naruto's cell phone rang madly and hindered Gaara's attack.

What started out as a pleasant conversation soon took a turn for the worse, inciting Naruto's temper. "Fine you good-for-nothing teacher!" Naruto barked before slamming his phone shut.

Hinata tilted her head to the side with a curious look on her face.

Naruto slapped his head to his forehead, groaning. "I gotta go. Stupid Jiraya-sensei got locked out of his house. He wants me to fricken' climb through his window, because he's a fatass, and open the door."

Hinata nodded.

He started towards the door but then turned around and eyed Gaara suspiciously. "Aren't you leaving?"

Gaara smirked and crossed his arms. Irritating the blond was definitely making his day. "No."

"What do you mean you aren't leaving?" _God, that jerk makes me want to rip my hair out!!_

The redhead shrugged. "I'm staying here."

"With whose permission?"

He tilted his head back slightly in Hinata's direction, answering the question. "She didn't tell me to leave." Naruto locked his eyes on her, awaiting her verdict, hoping it would be something along the lines of, "Leave me alone and never come near me again."

"I…" She paled, increasing the radiance of the blush that was holding her cheeks hostage.

Naruto sighed. What did he expect? It was Hinata. She was too nice for that.

"I…" Hands limp by her sides, Hinata looked down at the floor before suddenly sprinting towards Naruto.

"H-Hinata?!?!?!" She ushered the blond out of the house and shut the door behind her, sliding down until she was hit the ground. Naruto stared at her quizzically before kneeling down beside her. "Are you okay?" He brought his hand to her forehead, noticing her flushed face.

Hinata closed her eyes and let her head roll back. "I-I'm fine. I just didn't w-want you two to f-fight anymore."

"You could have said so." He chuckled and reached for her face, tucking a few strands of unruly hair behind her ears. Upon contact, Hinata's face blazed brighter than the sun itself, substituting the glorious yellow with a pinkish hue.

"N-naruto-kun, d-d-don't you have t-t-t-to l-leave?" She twiddled her thumbs nervously; even an idiot could tell she was feeling anxiety and slight discomfort.

"Yeah." He laughed before his voice took on a serious tone. "Look-" He sighed. "-I'm sorry for fighting in your house but-" He paused, attempting to mold his feelings into speech. He rubbed the back of his neck roughly and sighed again. "But I definitely do NOT feel comfortable leaving you here with Gaara. Hell, he almost killed me!"

Hinata failed to respond adequately- her mind was muddled with worries resulting in a bland answer of, "Um…" and a long silence to accompany it.

Sensing the awkward air, Naruto coughed into his hand and turned around so she was facing his backside. "Look, Hinata, I really don't want to leave you here alone with Gaara." Somehow managing to mask his concern regardless of the little squeak in the beginning of his sentence, Naruto continued, "But _call_ me if something happens. The cops suffice as well."

"O-okay." She stood up quietly and placed her hands behind her, tenderly embracing the doorknob with her fingers.

"See ya." He waved nonchalantly, trying to hide the sludge of emotions boiling inside of him. It peeved him to no end to know that Hinata was alone with Gaara but he had no choice. It wasn't like he was going to carry Gaara out of the house.

Still, it bothered him. Naruto intertwined his fingers and put them behind his head for a makeshift pillow while he was walking towards his car. Scenes of him as a knight rescuing Hinata from a wicked monster with a face of Gaara's entertained his childish mind until a less fanciful, more realistic thought played itself out. "I'll beat up Jiraya-sensei to free myself from all this stress." With a sudden urge to rush to his sensei's home, he speeded to the apartment happily with a malicious grin cemented onto his face.

&&&

He was staring at her. She could feel it. From when she had gotten back in from sending Naruto away to the moment she sat down across from him. The intensity of his stare was suffocating. And not only that, but his face was locked in an expression of indifference so it was impossible to predict what he was thinking or feeling at the moment.

She was definitely nervous about being alone with Gaara. Especially since she had seen him almost murder Naruto. But they were married and it was a problem she had to take care of.

So they were sitting there awkwardly, him boring holes into her head. The silence was absolutely deafening.

And to make it worse, her stomach chose that moment to growl. It wasn't even a slight growl- it sounded like a lion's roar, especially within the silence that took hold of the house. Her hands flew to cover her stomach and Hinata looked up slightly at Gaara to see if he heard. He was looking at her strangely, a nonexistent eyebrow rose questioningly.

"Are you hungry?"

"Slightly." Hinata wanted to disappear. Why did her stomach have to growl now? "I-I'll go make s-something. D-do you want a-anything?" Her voice squeaked on every other word; she was so nervous about angering him she kept stumbling over her words.

"No."

Hinata almost sighed in relief. If she had made something that he didn't like she didn't know what he would do to her. She stood up and started walking past him when his hand grabbed her own. She flinched and pulled away, yesterday's encounter and today's fight still fresh in her mind.

"I…"

Hinata stared at the wall, heart pounding madly. "Y-y-y-yes?"

"I'll buy."

"…" What? Did she hear him correctly? "N-no, i-it's oka-" Gaara's stomach rumbled, interrupting her sentence. It wasn't as loud as Hinata's stomach but it was audible. And for the first time Hinata saw a slight tinge of pink on the redhead's cheeks. She blinked several times before bringing her hands up to her mouth to mute her giggles.

Gaara coughed; face growing redder by the minute. He walked to the door and started putting on his shoes, trying to get out before his stomach spoke again. "I'll wait out front."

Hinata nodded and went upstairs to change.

And for some reason she felt relieved. It was as if his stomach grumbling had confirmed that Gaara was human. His little episodes didn't seem as intimidating anymore.

Especially since she knew she had the power to stop him somehow.

&&&

Hinata was deathly excited and worried at the same time. She couldn't really place her finger on what emotion she was feeling at that moment, it was like soup- you stick in all the ingredients and they all mush together into one thing so you can't even tell what the separate ingredients were in the beginning.

Her heart continued jumping up to her throat and back to its rightful spot continuously and refused to settle until she faced the source of her soupy feelings- Gaara.

_After breakfast they had parted rather awkwardly._

_He had stared into her eyes (it was reversed for the first time) and looked as if he was going to bring his hand up to her cheek or lean in for a quick brush of the lips. It was probably a spur of the moment thing because he flinched, as if he just realized what he was doing, and walked away without saying goodbye._

_In any case, it had set Hinata on fire and her blush extended from the top of her head down to her toes._

So here she was, waiting in the hallway for Gaara.

After what seemed like an eternity Gaara came giving off his usual aura of, "Get away from me and I'll let you live." The corners of her mouth slightly twitched upwards and she somehow she managed to bring up her hand and wave.

And-

She wanted to disappear. Gaara had flat out ignored her and walked into class leaving her feeling stupid and well, _stupid_.

That enough was to crush her spirits but Kin couldn't let Hinata's gloom stop there. She approached the girl, seething. "And, what do you think you're doing?" She slammed her fist into the space right next to Hinata's face.

Hinata remained stoic, still dumbfounded by Gaara's blunt rejection. She had spent hours worrying about how to approach him and all of that had gone to waste in a matter of seconds.

"Don't ignore me!" Kin slapped Hinata's face crudely; the sound resonated throughout the hallway, attracting the student body. Their loud chatter quieted into murmurs, all wanting to hear what was going on but not bold enough to approach Kin.

They all looked at Hinata to see what she would do.

Hinata took a deep breath and found herself smiling for some unknown reason. With some magical gift of courage bestowed upon her in that moment, she spoke. "Kin, If you want to talk, I'll see you after class. You may talk to me all you want then." And she quickly escaped into the safety of her first period.

&&&

First period was absolute torture. What had she been thinking, telling Kin to see her after class? Hinata groaned inwardly and buried her head in her arms. And she just had to choose it on a day where Ino was out absent.

"Hinata, are you day dreaming?" Iruka-sensei's voice hacked into her reverie.

"S-sorry sensei. I w-won't do it a-again." She hung her head, ashamed and embarrassed.

But despite that, her mind wandered off again. She was scared- she had no idea what had possessed her to challenge Kin. Basically, she had dug her own grave and time was encouraging her to fill it with her body.

5 minutes were left of class.

Then 4… 3… 2…1… the bell rang excitedly, as if it was eager to see how Hinata would cope with the predicament she had set up for herself.

Hinata was the third-to-last person to exit the room and she exited with dignity, professionally masking her fears. She looked right and left but there was no sign of Kin anywhere! Relief washed over her like a wave.

But why was everyone staring at her so evilly?

Before she had time to expand on her thoughts, she was pushed from the door by Gaara.

He glanced warily at Hinata. She was always getting in his way but today it didn't annoy him as much as it normally would. What did annoy him, however, was the intense glare everyone was giving her. Shrugging, he pushed her in the direction of her next class, gentler than he would normally, and walked off.

&&&

There was a problem. He had his arm draped around her and Hinata had no idea who he was.

As soon as the dismissal bell for lunch rang, some random guy had stridden up to her and lugged his arm around her shoulders.

He was now forcing her towards some unknown area without saying a word but smiling at her goofily.

He had blond hair, somewhat lighter than Naruto's and his face was lit up with a complementing grin. He didn't look like the type to harass girls, but looks were deceiving.

Nonetheless, Hinata was nervous. She had been receiving weird looks ever since she left first period and most of the guys looked at her as if she was a piece of meat. She could feel the sweat drip down from her forehead and she very unsuccessfully tried to tell him to leave her alone.

Her knees felt wobbly and it felt like someone had clamped a lock on her voice box so it couldn't function. Hoarsely, she asked, "Where a-a-are we g-g-oing?"

The boy stopped. He looked at her and twirled her so she was facing him. "Wherever you feel like going I guess." He smiled innocently before pushing her against the lockers.

Hinata shut her eyes. This scenario was all too familiar. She clutched her shoulders and looked away in fright.

"So playing hard to get huh? Kin was right. This is fun." He snickered before placing two arms on either side of her.

Hinata groaned. So this was all a setup by Kin. How exciting. She looked into the stranger's eyes and cleared her throat nervously. "I-I.. don't k-know what s-she told y-y-you but I'm n-not interested."

He gasped in mock surprise and started leaning in. He grinned, his teeth showing. "I think I like you. You're cute. Really cute."

&&&

Gaara swore he was going to puke any second. Kin was latched onto him and was babbling on and on about something or another. He would rather help Temari find an outfit or Kankuro apply his makeup than listen to her incessant jabbering.

Out of the thousands of words she had probably said to him, there was one thing that caught Gaara's attention. It was something about revenge and Hinata.

"What was that about Hinata?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, after today, she'll be fixed. She won't dare come near you and bother you again." Kin snuggled closer to Gaara proudly.

He cringed. He would rather Hinata come near him than Kin. "What did you do?" He asked if he was interested. Well he was interested, but not a lot. It was just to entertain himself.

Kin smirked. "I spread this rumor about how easy she is. I told most of the guys that she has a schedule for who she does and that they could book by going up to her. It was pretty funny how every guy was just dying to go 'please' her."

Gaara remained silent, quietly soaking in the information. "Where are they?"

"Does it matter?" Kin pouted, attempting to look cute.

He shrugged nonchalantly.

"Tell you what. Kiss me. Then I'll tell you." Kin took a string of Gaara's sweater and fiddled around with it. She tugged on it and jerked Gaara's face forward.

He could feel the color draining out of his face.

&&&

Hinata pushed him away with one hand and covered her lips with the other. There was no way she was going to lose her first kiss to a lecher! She inched away, hoping to escape without making a sound.

He stumbled backwards and frowned. "That's not very nice." He growled. All traces of his goofiness earlier were gone- his image now fitted his actions. He ferociously reached out for her and pulled her back to the lockers.

She gulped.

&&&

Gaara pulled his string out of her grasp. His face was inches away from hers but he didn't pull away. "Tell me. Where is she?"

Flushed, Kin panted, "She's in the hallway that leads to the outdoor courtyard."

Having found what he wanted to hear, Gaara backed away from Kin. There was no need for him to stay that close to her any longer. He pushed her to the floor and looked down at her with spite. "Don't touch me. Ever."

Desperately, Kin grabbed at him. "What do you like about her so much!?!?!"

"I'm not going there." He reached down and picked her up through the scruff of her collar. He glared- an icy glare that could freeze the sun solid- and slapped her.

She grasped her face and finally, the brick wall broke down. Pools of tears began to empty themselves out of her eyes. She looked up at him and for once saw Gaara as an unattainable person for her. She followed him with her eyes and as he walked away she felt despair- a feeling she had not felt in years.

&&&

Despite his words, Gaara found himself half running, half walking to the green hallway. He soon came upon them and stopped a few meters away.

He had no business there... So what the hell was he doing?

He paused and turned to walk away when he heard a strangled cry. The redhead whipped around and marched up to the pair.

He ripped the boy off of Hinata and shoved him to the floor roughly, planning to exert revenge. Before his mind could object, his body was already begun shamelessly pummeling the boy into the ground as if the other were his punching bag. Hinata's stifled cries only added fuel to the fire and he didn't stop, not even when the boy beneath him went limp.

A small crowd had gathered and watched the spectacle for a while, until an intelligent boy realized that the boy being pummeled had gone unconscious. He ran for the principal, who arrived shortly after the call.

Upon hearing the news, Tsunade had practically gone through every wall in the school building until she reached the area where the fight was taking place. She was immediately enraged- it wasn't the first time Gaara had fought, but now it looked like he was going to kill someone! And by the looks of it he may have attacked the poor girl against the lockers as well.

"SABAKU GAARA GET OFF HIM RIGHT NOW!" She boomed. Gaara looked up; a sadistic grin plastered on his face, and placed one more punch on the boy's face before complying with Tsunade's wishes.

Tsunade sighed and shook her head. She cleared her throat and put on the best scary face that she could, forgetting the fact nothing scared Gaara. He of course simply glared back in defiance and spat on the ground.

So in turn she looked at the crowd that was gathered and gave them the ghoulish look. They froze in terror. "Go on! Get to class there's nothing to see here!" She waited to hear them scamper away frightened but there was no sound. "NOW!" She screamed.

There was a frantic scuffling of feet, the sound of each student trying to get away. Now that's what she wanted to hear.

Then suddenly, she realized her mistake. Tsunade looked around to see if anyone had stayed behind. Thankfully, there were two students "hiding" behind the water fountain. "You two, get this boy to the clinic. And you, by the wall, are you okay?"

Hinata nodded. "Here grab my hand." The principal extended her arm and Hinata graciously accepted it. "You should go to the clinic as well." She pushed Hinata in the direction of the infirmary and nodded, signaling the girl to go.

Hinata looked back at Gaara worriedly and thankfully. He had saved her, but for what reason? She didn't have time to thank him because Tsunade had grabbed Gaara by the scruff of his neck and quite literally dragged him to the office.

&&&

Gaara stood by the door begrudgingly. Tsunade, used to Gaara's unruly behavior, ignored him and proceeded to sit down behind her desk. She set her elbows on the table and crossed her fingers to form a support for her chin. Wearily she glanced at him before clearing her throat.

"So what happened?"

There was silence.

"Are you telling me that boy just happened to magically become bruised and fainted?" She raised an eyebrow critically.

The redhead rolled his eyes and grunted. "I didn't do anything."

"Yeah, and I'm dating Jiraya."

Gaara shifted from the door to the chair. He sat down and looked contemptuously into Tsunade's eyes. "I beat that kid up." He shrugged. "He deserved it."

Tsunade would have given anything for a chance to whack him over the head with a 20 ton club of metal. No, not a 20 ton, a 40 or even a 50 ton would suffice. What was a human life to him, a plaything? "Gaara, you… since I know suspension isn't going to bother you, I'm going to give you Saturday school and detention every day for a month, plus a recommendation for expulsion. I wouldn't have minded so much if it was your first time, but you have records of continuous fighting and you nearly beat that child into his grave! That is unacceptable!"

An awkward silence filled the air. Tsunade sighed heavily. "If you don't have anything to say then you're dismissed." She swiveled her chair around with an air of finality- the conversation was officially over.

Gaara stood up and left the room not bothering to even think about cursing at the principal. He was preoccupied with thoughts of heading towards the clinic to see how the bastard was doing. And maybe to finish the job.

And there was always Hinata to check up on. He had no idea why he cared but he assumed that because Hinata was his wife, it was only natural to have some concern for her welfare.

She was confusing him.

Really confusing him.

Making him do things he normally wouldn't do.

He stopped in front of the door that read, "School Clinic" and paused. He reached up for the door but changed his mind in the midst and walked away.

&&&

News of the boy who had touched Hinata and ended up in the clinic spread like wildfire among the student body. The rumor about Hinata being a slut was nothing- the guys were to worried about their own butts to care about harassing her.

Hinata had felt so thankful; she had even made a lunch for Gaara that very morning.

She nervously approached the lunchroom, heart pounding once more at the thought of meeting him.

She walked to her usual table and grinned when Naruto waved at her. She took a seat beside him while waiting for the others to join. In her excitement, she had arrived early and had completely forgotten to wait for Ino or the others.

"Hinata-chan!! What's that thing you have in your arms? It looks good!" Naruto asked, his mouth watering. It was true though. The lunch looked very delicious, packed neatly in a three-layered lunchbox. Not to mention the aroma that was ridiculously tempting.

"Sorry Naruto-kun, t-this is f-f-for someone e-else. Um… Where i-is G-g-gaara-san?"

"That jerk? I dunno… He has detention and stuff because he got in a fight… so… when he's all pissed he doesn't sit with us. He sits.. erm.. I think at the roof. Why?"

Hinata smiled before picking up her things. "Nothing. U-u-uh, I h-have to g-go now. T-t-tell the others. p-please!"

"W-w-wait! Hinata! What about the rumor-" Naruto sighed in defeat. Hinata had left before he had even started his sentence. "Che. It isn't like I'm stupid Hinata. I know you're going to go find him." Naruto grumbled to his food, jabbing it torturously with his fork.

&&&

Gaara looked out into the vast space in front of him. It was so peaceful up on the roof. There was no distractions, no annoying people to bug him. He could actually feel comfortable and relax.

He was just about to doze off when the door to the roof burst open and a girl clumsily rolled out of it. He peeked open an eye to see who it was.

Hinata looked around and found herself making eye contact with one of Gaara's eyes, that eventually was accompanied by the other green orb.

"What are you doing here?" His voice came out sharp, sharper than he had intended.

Hinata flinched but it did not deter her from her goal. She bowed and held out her lunch that she had prepared. "H-here. T-thank you f-f-for yesterday!"

She waited for him to take it out of her hands but he didn't. Minutes ticked by and still he didn't move a muscle.

"Keep it. I don't wan-" His stomach betrayed him by grumbling it's displeasure at not being fed. "Fine." Begrudgingly, he stood up, snatched the lunch out of Hinata's hands quickly and turned around so she wouldn't see his blushing face.

"Gaara…" She bit her lip. She had accidentally addressed him without the honorific! When he remained silent, aside from the sounds of his chewing, Hinata let out a deep sigh of relief. She took the silence as a sign to go on. "Thank you f-for saving me yesterday!"

Gaara turned around, chicken hanging out of his mouth. He raised a non-existent eyebrow questioningly. It was the first time he had ever been thanked for anything, ever since he passed those crayons to the girl next to him in the second grade.

Hinata smiled gently before grabbing her own stomach. She had completely forgotten about buying her lunch!

Gaara glanced from the lunchbox to Hinata, to the lunchbox again. Though it was highly uncharacteristic of him, he motioned for her to sit.

She complied and was surprised when he offered her part of the lunch. "N-no, i-it's okay." She looked away blushing. "I m-made the l-lunch f-for you… not for m-m-me." She continued to look to the side, ashamed, until she felt something poke at her cheek aggressively. She looked and instantly, the food was jammed into her mouth.

Gaara coughed and looked away with half his mouth full. "Eat." He coughed again.

Smiling, Hinata chewed the food. A warm feeling enveloped her body and brought her mind to thinking that perhaps, Gaara liked her a little bit.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her smile. He twitched and shook his head- it was highly unnatural of him to share, much less make someone smile.

_&'But still, she looks a lot better smiling than crying.'&_

A/N.

Ugh. 1:09 AM in the morning. I'm updating.

I truly want to apologize for the late update.

I couldn't write because I had to help an old lady cross the street. And that took forever because as soon as I did, she asked me to help her find the grocery store. Then I had to carry her groceries to her house. Then I had to clean and cook. Then I had to stay for dinner and help prepare the house for her family that was coming over. And well, things dragged out for months until finally I was released.

Note to self. Don't help old ladies across the street again.

Note to Kishimoto. Thank you for letting me borrow YOUR characters.

Note to reader. REVIEW. And HOPEFULLY you'll get a faster update. :)

R-E-V-I-E-W.

C'mon, you know you want to.

Yay, now I'm off to sleep, dreaming of you clicking that purple button and reviewing.


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